Back to the Present
by Jacque Nicole
Summary: The Cyborg of the future has found out a way to travel back in time. When Robin meets Nightwing, vicious tension develops between the two. How will they both manage to work together to save the person they love? RS. Action/Drama/Angst/Romance all in one!
1. Back to 2008

_***NEW AUTHOR'S NOTE***_

_**Hello, readers. I know that this must be strange for you to see that I have updated this story. I am not adding anything significant to the story, I am simply reading through and fixing all of the grammar errors and changing around anything that I feel did not come across the right way the first time I wrote the story. I have recently decided that I wanted to return to the fanfiction world, and I thought the best way to do that would be to refamiliarize myself with my works and style. It's been so long since I've written anything, so I think this is a very important step for me to take for my return. If this is the first time you are reading this story, I hope you enjoy it. If you've already read the story before, I hope you like my new edits. One of the major differences is that I am trying to make the M rating that this story has consistent through all of it. Originally, the story evolved to become M rated, which gave it an awkward feel when put all together. I hope I can do it well enough without compromising the integrity of the story, but that's for you all to tell me. Please review so I know how to improve so that when I make my return I can be the best writer I can be.**_

_**Seeing as I wrote this story a very long time ago, I would like to remind you all of the time period that the story is set in. The story takes place during Season 2 of the series, weeks after the events of "How Long is Forever," but before "Transformation." To be precise, the whole story takes place between "Date With Destiny" and "Transformation." If you need to refamiliarize yourself with the content of these episodes, I suggest searching the show up on or and read descriptions, or you can watch episodes on YouTube.**_

_**Also, please note that I am making the future titans come from ten years in the future rather than twenty like they said in "How Long is Forever."**_

_**THE DIALOGUE FROM WHEN WE FIRST GO TO THE PAST UNTIL WHEN NIGHTWING ENTERS COMES DIRECTLY FROM "HOW LONG IS FOREVER," WORD FOR WORD. I wanted to establish as much continuity as possible before launching into the plot.**_

_**Without any further ado, I give you **_**Back to the Present…**_** REVISED.**_

_**Disclaimer: **__I have not, and never will, claim ownership of __Teen Titans and all its elements and characters. Teen Titans is property of DC Comics, Cartoon Network, and other intermediate companies._

_**Summary**__: The Cyborg of the future fixes Warp's time regulator which allows him and the futuristic Titans to travel back in time to visit their younger selves, but Nightwing only cares about one thing - seeing his Starfire again. Chaos ensues as Robin finds another man making moves on his crush, even though this other man happens to share his DNA. Can these two vigilantes put their differences aside in order to help the one person they love?_

_Rated __**M**__ for language and violence._

**BACK TO THE PRESENT**  
**Chapter 1: Back to 2008**

**By Jacque Nicole **

*********  
**

_Titan's Tower, 2018_

Nightwing sat silently in the middle of his room in a deeply meditated state. His legs were crossed in Indian style underneath him. His breathing remained even. He raised his muscular arms slowly above him, inhaling as they went up, and exhaling as he brought him back down again.

Nightwing was never the type to do yoga, but he'd picked up the hobby after _she_ had come. After an encounter with _her, _he had needed to unwind just to stay sane.

He slowly began to move in several poses, enjoying his peace, his solitude, his –

"Nightwing! You'll never believe what happened!" a deep voice shouted to him from somewhere down the hall, jarring the former Boy Wonder's concentration.

The vigilante's shoulders slumped as he sighed. "I should've known this wasn't going to last long," he mumbled to himself, rising from his yoga mat.

Suddenly, an overly excited Cyborg burst into the room with a broad smile on his half-metal face. "Nightwing!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I've finally done it!"

Nightwing remained aloof. "So what have you done this time?" he responded lamely.

The half robot ignored his leader's slight sarcasm. "You remember when Starfire came a couple of weeks ago," he stated the obvious, oblivious to Nightwing's brief flinch at the girl's name. He continued, "Well, I've been trying to repair the time regulator I used to get her home." Cyborg paused and looked toward his spandex clad companion for any reaction. At his lack of response, he continued, "Well, turns out, it was a simple fix and I even made some improvements!"

Nightwing's eyes widened. _'Okay,'_ he thought. _'So you fixed a broken toy. Whoop-di-doo. What do I care?' _He looked longingly at his abandoned yoga mat and wondered if there was any chance of getting back to it without hurting Cyborg's feelings. "And that means...?" he said, desperately attempting to sound intrigued.

"It means that I've perfected trans-dimensional time travel!" Cyborg exclaimed proudly.

Nightwing lay down on the floor and began doing his daily crunches. "Wow, Cy. I haven't seen you this happy in years," he said. _'Time travel,' _he thought with a slight grin on his masked face. It was definitely an achievement for his best friend to perfect what was once seen as impossible. Good for him.

'_And good for me,'_ the vigilante couldn't help adding. It seemed that Cyborg's new tool could help his solve all his problems once and for all. If what his mechanical genius of a teammate was saying was true...

"You'll be seeing Starfire in no time, Nightwing!"

Nightwing's heart burst with joy at the thought of seeing his Star again. "How soon could we leave, Cyborg?" he said, pulling himself all the way up and off the floor. This was just the opportunity he was waiting for.

Cyborg wasn't at all surprised at his best friend's hasty decision to see his past crush. "Anytime, man. Anytime."

"Well, guess where we're heading, Cy?"

"2008, here come the Titans!" Cyborg exclaimed before he left to fetch the regulator from his quarters.

Meanwhile, Nightwing folded up his yoga mat before going to the Main Room. As he made his way through the halls of Titan's Tower, he noticed how beautiful they had managed to make it. The halls had been re-carpeted the walls were freshly painted. Gorgeous portraits and exotic plants lined the entire tower beautifully.

After Starfire left to return to her time after the ordeal with Warp, he and the rest of the Titans had decided to reunite for the good of Jump City, not to mention for themselves. They realized how much they missed each other, and, in no time, they were able to rebuild the bond they shared when they were teenagers. Immediately, they decided to reoccupy the Tower, which had been where Cyborg had lived since the initial break-up.

When Nightwing arrived in the Main Room he spotted Raven and Beast Boy engrossed in conversation. Even though he was not a boy anymore, Beast Boy demanded that he'd keep his old name. He said Beast Man made him sound old. Cyborg responded by saying that his face made him look old and an argument had ensued.

It had been just like old times.

Ever since Starfire went back to her own dimension, Beast Boy had decided to put himself through some self improvement. He no longer harbored a pot belly. He now had a relatively flat stomach, and he was still working on developing the six pack he'd always wanted.

Raven's insanity vanished when she reunited with her friends. Having been cleansed of her father's evil when she was a teenager, she was now much more in control of her power than she'd ever been. Now that the darkness that once consumed her soul was gone, Raven's attitude towards life had changed drastically. She now made the most of each day, and she had fallen out of her gothic 'phase'. She wore a white version of her uniform and a smile on her face rather than the gloomy black version and a frown. Nightwing would have liked his friend either way, but was glad to have the change, if only for Raven's mental well being.

Snapping himself out of thought, Nightwing addressed Raven and Beast Boy. "Did you hear about Cyborg's discovery?"

Beast Boy smirked. "Well, yea, dude. He was only running about the Tower shouting 'I fixed it! I fixed it!' and 'I'm father time!'" he answered sardonically.

"So you know we're going, right?" Nightwing asked, smiling in anticipation.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Raven answered, returning a goofy grin of her own.

Suddenly, Cyborg appeared carrying a disk shaped object. "I got it!" he said, connecting the machine to himself. He pointed to an empty space in the Main Room, typing in a few codes. Suddenly, bright blue light emitted from the machine, tearing open a portal. "Well," Cyborg announced over his shoulder to his fellow Titans, "It's now or never guys."

"I choose now," Nightwing replied before jumping into the time portal. The rest of his comrades followed suit.

*******

_Titan's Tower, 2008_

"Unless you want your city reduced to a moth eaten wasteland, you will do exactly as I say."

Starfire and Robin stood in the Main Room of Titans' Tower staring at the big screen monitor. Killer Moth was on it, dictating his demands to Robin concerning the removal of the giant moth-like creatures that were presently destroying a bridge in the city. Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were out trying to hold off the creatures but to no avail. Robin had no choice but to play along with Killer Moth's demands until he received more information from his second in command.

"What do you want?" Robin prodded.

"My demands are simple," Killer Moth began. "The city will declare me ruler, the Teen Titans will surrender… and Robin will take this lovely young lady to her Junior Prom!"

Immediately, a pink box containing the 'lovely young lady' in question appeared. "Hi Robbie-poo!" she said in the most high pitched and annoying voice that both Robin and Starfire had ever heard.

Robin's jaw dropped in shock. "Um… What was that last one again?"

Starfire's face fell in a deep frown of jealousy. "Robin," she said slowly, "Who is this girl and why does she call you 'poo'?"

Killer Moth continued on the screen, "Her name is Kitten." The girl in the box started to make flirtatious faces at a repulsed Robin. "And you will take her to prom!" the insect-like villain commanded.

Starfire flew up to Kitten's image on the screen. "This 'prom' is some manner of duel, yes?" she said as she removed her glove from her hand and slapped it across the image of Kitten's face. "Robin eagerly accepts!"

Robin shook his head slowly, dreading his next words. "It's not a duel, Star. It's a..." he gulped, "date."

There was a short silence, kind of like the calm before the storm that was Starfire. "A _what_!" The Tamaranean princess' screech could be heard throughout the entire Tower. "He does not accept! Do you hear?! Robin does _not _accept! Oh the scandal! The atrocity! These demands must _not _be met! Clearly this demented madman has no idea with whom he is dealing! He is absolutely out of his mind if he believes you would even consider such a distasteful…" Starfire continued her tirade even as Robin grabbed her foot and dragged her out of the room.

"We're going to need a minute," Robin said as he towed Starfire and himself through the doors to the hallway. He pulled out his hand-held communicator and typed on the mini console to call Cyborg. The screen blinked and flashed for a few seconds before Cyborg's image appeared.

The Boy Wonder sighed tiredly. _'I'm _really_ not in the mood for this shit tonight.' _"Cyborg, report," he said to his robotic friend. "How bad is it?"

"_Bad_. Can't hold them off much longer. If you're going to do something, do it quick!" replied the half-metal teen.

Robin cringed as he saw the destruction that the moths had ravaged behind Cyborg. For a moment, he was glad that the most challenging things he had to deal with right now were an angry alien princess and a potential prom date from hell. Robin sighed in resignation. "I have to do it."

Starfire exploded in rage. "_WHAT?!"_

Robin turned toward his Tamaranean friend. "It's the only way to save the bridge… The only way to give us enough time to stop killer moth," he told her flatly.

Starfire was at a loss for words. "But…but… but…"

"I have to, Starfire," Robin interjected as he began walking back into the Main Room. "No matter how much I don't want to…" He halted his steps and looked up at the big screen where Killer Moth and Kitten's faces awaited him. "And I really don't want to," he grumbled under breath.

"Do we have a deal?" asked Killer Moth.

"I'll take the girl to prom," Robin told him reluctantly.

"Do not tell _me_. Ask her," replied Killer Moth.

Robin rolled his eyes. "You've got to be—"

"Do it!" the villain commanded.

Robin frowned. "Kitten was it?" She responded with a flirtatious 'meow'. "Right… Will you go with me to the prom?" he asked, he teeth gritted together and his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Starfire was fuming.

Kitten gasped dramatically. "Oh, Robbie-poo! I thought you'd never ask!"

*******

A little while later, Robin departed for the event and Starfire was alone, preparing to leave the tower to follow Robin. She had changed into a beautiful shimmering purple spaghetti strap gown. She opted to keep her hair style simple, and she figured the fewer accessories the better. After all, she wasn't trying to impress anyone, right?

_...Right?_

Starfire examined her outfit in the full length mirror in her room. "Hmm, the device called the internet displayed this type of dress as suitable prom attire. I hope Robin likes it." She instantly blushed at her spoken thoughts.

The Tamaranean teen left her room and headed for the Main Room. "Now, where did I place my gloves?" she wondered aloud as she searched for the white gloves that went with her gown.

Suddenly, Starfire felt a tingling sensation shoot down her back. She turned around to see what was behind her just in time to see a swirling blue portal appear. She stood defensively with star-bolts generating in her hands, ready to be thrown.

The first thing Starfire saw was a leg clad in black spandex extending from the portal. Her eyes widened in recognition as the rest of the body emerged from the void.

There was a brief silence between them as they both drank up each other's images. The last time they'd seen each other, both thought they were saying goodbye, never to see each other again. The sight of each other was mind numbing.

Finally, the man coming out of the portal spoke. "Hello Starfire," he said with a glint in his eye.

Starfire found it immensely more difficult to form any cohesive words, so she said the first thing that came to her mind. "G-greetings... Nightwing."

_**...End Chapter 1...**_


	2. Mystery and Jealousy

**BACK TO THE PRESENT**  
**Chapter 2: Mystery and Jealously**

**By Jacque Nicole**

*****  
**

Starfire stared at the group of people that stood in front of her. They were all there: Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, and Nightwing; each one just as she remembered them... mostly. She noticed with appreciation that Beast Boy dropped a couple of pounds and that Raven seemed more... approachable.

"Oh! What a pleasure this is!" she said aloud as she hugged each of them. She lingered on Nightwing for a while, giving him one of her one hundred watt smiles. "Please tell me, how long will you be staying?"

Cyborg shrugged. "As long as you allow, I guess. There isn't really anything for us to take care of in our time," he answered, feeling awkward in his spot between his best friend and his childhood crush. He'd seen the way Nightwing had acted after Starfire's departure and knew that the red head teenager was all that was on his mind right now and by the looks of it, Starfire seemed very happy to see Nightwing too. _'Maybe this trip will work out for him,' _thought Cyborg. _'I sure hope so, for all our sakes.'_

Beast Boy cleared his voice to get Starfire's attention away from Nightwing. "So, where are the rest of the Titans?"

"And why are you so dressed up?" Raven added.

Starfire gasped and shot up from her seat. "Oh, I nearly forgot!" she said as she rushed over to the couch where she spotted her white gloves. "I have to go to the prom! I must depart!"

Nightwing's ears perked at this. "Wait, you're going to a prom? With whom?" he asked with a twinge of envy in his voice. He was slightly surprised at his tone. Why did he care so much about her date? More importantly, why the hell did he care so much about her?

Starfire looked puzzled. "I have forgotten that it is customary to bring a date to the prom. I have not acquired one…"

Nightwing jumped at the opportunity. "I'll take you!" he offered quickly.

The Tamaranean teen smiled gratefully. "Why, thank you Nightwing. It would be very 'uncool' of me to go to the prom alone, yes?"

Cyborg folded his arms, a little miffed about being excluded. "Well, what the hell are we supposed to do here?"

Starfire smiled at the rest of the team as she bustled around the Main Room, finishing getting ready. "This is wonderful! You can help Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy find Killer Moth. They are currently at the bridge. You know where that is, yes?"

The robot nodded. "Of course. Let's go kick some buggy ass," he announced as he led the other two out of the building, leaving Nightwing and Starfire alone.

"We should be going now, Nightwing," said the red head, tugging urgently at the vigilante's hand. "We must save Robin from his horrendous, appalling, wretched, awful date! Her name is Kitten, and she seems to have some connection with Killer Moth," she explained as she rushed to the elevators, Nightwing tailing close behind.

*******

Robin's motorcycle came to a stop in front of a large yacht. A banner with the words 'Junior Prom' in bold pink letters hung above the deck. Impatiently, he crossed his arms and waited for his "date." The sooner she came, the sooner this whole ordeal would be over with.

…_Ten minutes…_

……_Twenty minutes……_

………_Half an hour………_

Robin yelled out in frustration. Where the fuck was this girl? Did she have to be fashionably late or something?

Robin waited impatiently for five more minutes, telling himself that if she did not arrive soon, he abandon this entire plan, when suddenly he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Exasperated, he shouted, "It's about time you got here!"

"Why?" A sweet, angelic voice asked. "Am I late?"

At the sound of the familiar voice, Robin whirled around. "Starfire! What are you doing here?" he as incredulously before mentally scolding himself. By the looks of her shimmering purple dress, she was obviously here for the prom. _'But,'_ Robin thought to himself, _'If she came here for the prom, wouldn't she have a...'_

A man dressed in black spandex with a blazing blue bird symbol on the chest approached Starfire and slew his arm around her slender waist.

The Boy Wonder gulped. _'...date?'_

*******

"LOOK OUT, CYBORG!" Raven shouted to her teammate as one of Killer Moth's creatures flew toward him. Cyborg leaped over the offending bug and shot at it. Beast Boy was in elephant form and attempting to squish the insects with his mighty feet. Raven, on the other hand, was trying to put broken pieces of the bridge back together as the moths destroyed it.

Unfortunately, they were fighting a losing battle. New swarms of moths kept appearing and the teens were losing ground.

Unbeknownst to Cyborg, a group of moths were munching away at a support that was above him. Beast Boy and Raven were too distracted to notice as the beam plummeted toward their teammate. Almost too late, the robot looked up. He prepared himself for impact when a stream of magic held the support. It raised and replaced itself.

"Thanks Rave!" Cyborg yelled to his teenage friend.

Raven shot him a look as she put together another section of the bridge. "For what?"

The teenage robot would've raised an eyebrow if he had them. "You just saved my life."

"No, I didn't."

Cyborg scratched his head. "Then who . . . ?" Surprising Cyborg, a massive green pterodactyl flew above him. "B.B.?"

"Dude, I'm down here!" shouted the teenage changeling as he transformed into a wooly mammoth. The pterodactyl still flew in the air.

The teenage robot was beyond confused. "What the fuck is going on?" he bellowed. Suddenly a blue beam shot down several moths. Grumbling, Cyborg continued to destroy the giant creatures. Whatever or whoever it was that was intruding was seriously bailing out him and his friends, so he accepted whatever help they could get. With the aid of the mysterious figures, the moth forces started dwindling.

"Almost finished guys. Only a few left to go," Cyborg announced. As soon as the words left his mouth a whole new swarm appeared. "Shit," he cursed. "I jinxed it."

Meanwhile, in the shadows, future Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy were contemplating if they should reveal themselves to their younger counterparts.

"Should we come out now, Cyborg? I think your teenage self is becoming distracted because of our presence," Raven said.

Cyborg nodded, agreeing with his life-long friend. "Yeah, I think that would be best."

"Dude! This is so cool! We get to meet our teenage selves!" Beast Boy exclaimed as he and the other Titans stepped out of the shadows to make themselves known to the teenage fighters.

*******

Robin glared at the strange man through his mask. Who the fuck did he think he was? Who gave him the right to _touch_ her? Robin felt his face getting redder and redder with anger and—dare he say it?—envy for the other man.

"Robin, this is Nightwing . . ." The man clad in black held his hand out to the Boy Wonder and waited for a handshake. Out of politeness Robin obliged. "You remember me speaking of him, do you not?" Robin nodded. He remembered the amazement he felt after Starfire had told the story of her visit to the future. At the time, he felt proud of his counterpart, but now… "He's my date," Starfire continued. Robin's grip on Nightwing's hand—which he still held in a handshake—tightened at the "D" word.

Nightwing cleared his throat. "Nice to meet you, Robin." He chuckled nervously. "This is so strange; I'm meeting myself!"

"Yeah," Robin replied absently, his mind not on the man's words. He couldn't get over the fact that he had his hand on Starfire's waist and she didn't care!

Releasing Robin's hand, Nightwing continued awkwardly. "Umm, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg came along with me. They're out helping your team…"

"Aren't you a little too _old_ to be dating Star?" Robin asked suddenly.

Nightwing and Starfire blushed simultaneously. "I'm _not_ dating her," stumbled Nightwing. The last thing he wanted was to cause trouble between himself and his past self, but he had missed Starfire so much… "She needed a companion for tonight and I volunteered myself."

Before Nightwing could continue, Starfire inserted, "Where's Kitten?"

"Not here yet," Robin replied shortly.

"Late? Well that's not appropriate for a date, is it?"

Robin saw right through Starfire's pleasantries. She was trying to make her date seem better than his. Well, he'd show her. Two could play at that game. "I don't mind. She's probably spending extra time on her hair and makeup, just to look her best for me."

"Perhaps," replied Starfire, making sure to get a little closer to Nightwing to get Robin more jealous. It was working, but he certainly didn't want her to know it was.

A pink limo slowed to a stop right in front of Robin. "That's probably her now," he said. The door flew open, almost knocking the Boy Wonder over. Kitten sprang out the vehicle and landed on him, her arms immediately wrapping around Robin's neck in a vice grip.

"Oh, Robbie-poo! We're going to have so much fun tonight!" she said, tightening her hug on the hero.

"Yeah," agreed Robin with a huff. He could hardly breathe, but he decided to play his role as Kitten's date so she'd begin to trust him enough to spill information. _'Not to mention the fact that Starfire's a little jealous of her,'_ he added to himself. "We're totally gonna have a shitload of fun," and with that line, he planted a soft kiss on Kitten's cheek, grimacing at the squeal she made.

It was going to be a long night.

*******

"Umm... Starfire?"

For at least the fifth time in the past thirty seconds, the twenty six-year-old superhero tried to avert the attention of his young female companion back to himself. For fifteen minutes, she'd been staring at the Boy Wonder from across the deck, longing brimming in her breathtaking green eyes.

"Oh, I apologize for my lack of attention, Nightwing. I have been… preoccupied…" she replied, glancing once again at Robin.

Nightwing sighed. Was there nothing he could do to make Starfire notice him? "Would you like some punch?"

"Punch?" Starfire's brow furrowed in confusion. "You wish to hit me?" she asked, slightly offended.

"Oh, no, no, Star. I'd never ever hurt you. I love—" Nightwing began but quickly cut himself off. He shouldn't be even thinking about those sorts of emotions when it came to her. Not anymore, at least. "Punch is another name for juice," he replied instead.

"Well then, I'd appreciate some 'punch'. Thank you."

Nightwing lethargically made his way over to the punch bowl, feeling rejected. _'After all this time,'_ he thought to himself, _'after ten fucking years of waiting to be with her, all I can do is sit and watch her fall in love with another guy?'_ He clenched his jaw. _'No way, especially since he looks like he's doing just fine without her.'_ Just across the room, Robin and Kitten were engaged in what looked like a riveting conversation.

The vigilante approached the punch bowl with newfound determination. A group of teenagers were giggling and pointing at him from across the room and whispering amongst themselves. Filling up a cup with punch, he gave the group a little wink, causing them to giggle even more.

"Here you go," he flirtatiously said to Starfire, giving her the cup of punch.

Starfire gave him a smile. "I am thankful."

Making sure there were no moments of awkward silences, Nightwing initiated a conversation, knowing how much the Tamaranean girl loved to talk. "So," he said. "What's Tamaran like?"

*******

Poor Robin was struggling not to strangle his date. He could not get Kitten to shut up! Deciding to use her talkative nature to his advantage, Robin began to grill Kitten on her relations with Killer Moth.

"So... How does Killer Moth know you?" asked the Boy Wonder.

Raising and eyebrow, Kitten tentatively asked, "Why do you want to know?"

'_Because my friends are fighting at a bridge, trying to keep this city safe from that crazy ass psycho,'_ Robin thought, but he replied, "I was just wondering. You know, making small talk."

Slightly hesitant, she responded. "He's my father."

This information surprised Robin, who was hardly ever shocked. He sat forwards in his chair. "Really? You look nothing like him," he said sarcastically.

"He genetically mutated himself, duh!" Kitten replied, as if the information was already obvious. "His obsession with moths completely took over his life."

Whoa, this was way more information than Robin had bargained for. This was easy... maybe too easy. "Where did he get the equipment to conduct such complex experiments?" asked the Boy Wonder, falling into interrogation mode.

Shrugging, Kitten replied, "I don't know where he got the machines and technology, and quite frankly, I don't give a shit. All I know is that he did it in our basement."

"Your basement?"

"Sure, there's a lab down there."

"Did your father want this kind of information to be known, especially by me?"

Kitten scoffed, once again reverting to her bratty personality. "Probably not, but I honestly don't give a fuck about what he thinks. I _hate_ him!"

That was a shocker. "Oh, really?"

"And here," she said, tossing Robin a remote control. "Press the big red button in the center and every moth in the city will go fleeing back into the lab. Press the green button and they'll revert back into their larva form, making them entirely harmless."

"Umm... thanks..." replied Robin, still wary of trusting her.

"And also, that girl over there has been staring at us for a while."

Robin looked to where Kitten had pointed.

It was Starfire.

Robin cringed when he saw Nightwing approach her with a drink in his hand. His heart ached when Starfire gave her date a smile that she usually reserved for him. The Boy Wonder clutched the remote control so tightly that he knew that his knuckles were turning white. Trying to control his anger, Robin pushed the red button, all doubt of trusting Kitten temporarily forgotten. He had to deal with the Killer Moth issue first. When he was out of the way, he'd work on Nightwing.

*******

A peculiar looking green flea jumped unnoticed thorough the green woolly mammoth's pelt. Cyborg began to slip again and the queer white light once again righted him on the beam. A blast that did not come from the teenage robot killed three more mutants. Cyborg was right, Raven realized. Something strange was going on.

Without warning, the remaining moths flew in one direction, seemingly regrouping elsewhere.

An agitated Cyborg climbed off of the bridge's supports. If he had any hair he probably would have been yanking it all out in frustration. Beast Boy de-transformed back into his normal form and flicked a bug off of his ear.

"What just happened?" Raven's monotonous voice rang out in the silence.

"You want to know what just happened? Somebody's playing with my fucking mind is what's happening," Cyborg screamed. _"WHO ARE YOU?!"_

Beast Boy nudged Raven. "I think Cy's finally lost it."

"No," replied Raven. "He has a point. Someone has been helping us."

"Huh? I didn't see anything," said the green changeling.

"That's because you've always been a dumbass," a voice that sounded like Cyborg's ridiculed from the shadows.

"Hey!" two offended voices said simultaneously.

"Huh?" Beast Boy said. He was sure he had heard another voice from behind him.

"See! I told you something weird was going on! What the fu– "

"Did I really curse that much when I was a teenager?" Future Cyborg whispered to Raven.

"Yea," the half demon answered her companion. "You still do. And I've always had to tell you to—"

"Watch your language, Cyborg," teenage Raven said.

"This is driving me crazy!" the teenage robot ranted. Finally he snapped. He powered up his energy cannon and aimed it into the darkness. "Show yourselves or I'll shoot!"

A voice chuckled mockingly. "No you won't."

Cyborg's arm trembled before he lowered it once more. "Who are you? Why do you sound like me?"

The voice laughed a long and disturbingly familiar laugh. Cyborg stiffened. "Because," said the voice. Future Cyborg stepped out of the darkness, Raven and Beast Boy at his side. "I _am_ you."

_**...End Chapter 2...**_


	3. Revelations

**BACK TO THE PRESENT**_**  
**_**Chapter 3**:** Revelations**

**By Jacque Nicole **

*****  
**

Why was it that every momentous event that ever happened to the Titans began in the Main Room? Where had Cyborg drawn the blueprints of the T-Sub? Where had Starfire played her first video game? Where had Beast Boy broken his arm in a 'freak accident' involving Raven and spoons? And most importantly to the Boy Wonder, this room was where he had finally realized that was in love with a certain Tamaranean teammate.

And now, the team found themselves once again in the Main Room, experiencing the most surreal event that they would ever experience: meeting themselves.

Two Ravens, two Beast Boys, two Cyborgs, and two Robins. It was mind boggling. The silence in the room was tense, both groups waiting for the other to begin speaking.

Finally, the deafening quiet was broken. "Dude, am I really going to end up looking like _that_?" And with that, the tension lifted.

"You can only hope to," replied elder Beast Boy. He stuck his tongue out to his younger counterpart playfully. The room was silent again.

"I don't get it," teenage Raven said after a moment. "Where is the Starfire from of your time?"

"Yes," said Starfire. "I've always wondered what I would look like in the future. Am I beautiful?"

"You have always been and always will be beautiful, Star." Robin gave Nightwing the dirtiest look he could ever muster. Nightwing ignored it. "After we sent you back home after your little time travel fiasco, we expected you – well, the future you – to come back to our time. We expected the past to affect our present; hence, we thought you'd return to us. We thought we could become the original Titans again."

"We waited, but you never returned," Elder Cyborg continued. "Poor Nightwing, he was devast–"

"I was upset, yes. We all were. Wishful thinking, I suppose," Nightwing interrupted.

Cyborg shook his bare head. "That doesn't make any sense. After she came back to us, she should've returned to your time."

"Should have, but didn't," replied future Raven. "Nightwing did some research. When we returned Starfire, our two time periods separated, creating two separate dimensions. We tampered with the space-time continuum by sending you back. You were supposed to stay with us."

"Bullshit." Starfire gasped at Robin's language. "She belongs with us."

"Which is why we sent her back," Future Cyborg said. "We know she'd rather be with you than with us." Nightwing's heart stung at the words, knowing that they were the truth. _'She may want to be with you,' _he thought, looking at the Boy Wonder, _'but I'll be damned if I didn't try.'_

"What I meant was," the older half demon continued, "she was supposed to stay with us because of the flow of the time stream. When the Starfire of our time was sucked into the future during our battle with Warp, she stayed. That's why she wasn't with us when you fell into the portal and transferred to our time period. You were supposed to stay with us, just like our Starfire stayed," she said to the Tamaranean girl.

"But, even though I knew she was supposed to stay, I let her come back to you, her friends." Nightwing's eyes swept over the eyes of each of the Teen Titans as he spoke. "I knew she would be unhappy if she stayed with us, and I didn't want any of you to go through the same pain we went through when we lost our Starfire." _'I don't think anyone should experience the depression I went though,'_ he added in his thoughts. Nightwing felt sudden warmth encompass his hand, innocently calming his raging emotions. Starfire was holding his hand.

"I sympathize," she said with honesty shining through the big green eyes that Nightwing loved so much. The way she looked that very moment imprinted its image in Nightwing's brain. The way her long red hair tickled her perfect, innocent face left the hero speechless. The prom dress that she was still wearing absolutely enhanced her natural beauty, although Nightwing longed to see her in her trademark purple ensemble. A stray lock of hair fell over her face, and Nightwing itched to tuck it behind her ear for her, but she already did it before he had the chance.

For months after she disappeared, Nightwing – back then, he was still Robin – searched high and low for her, using all the technology and connections he had to assist his search. Hell, he even asked his adoptive father and mentor, Batman, to help out, but it was all in vain. Nightwing was not able to locate her. Not long after Nightwing quit his search, the Titans split up and went their separate ways and he had decided to continue his vigilante activities solo and become Nightwing. He had, and still did, regretted not being able to show Starfire all of the spectaculars that Earth had to offer. She had never gotten to see a circus, or go to the zoo, but most importantly, Nightwing regretted not being able to tell Starfire how much he loved her. He was not going to make that same mistake again while he was here.

Meanwhile, Robin was livid. He saw how lovingly Starfire and Nightwing were staring at each other and how his hands held hers. Robin was disgusted. '_How _dare_ he fucking look at her, _touch_ her like that?!_' He decided to interrupt the tender moment. "Ahem!" he cleared his throat rather loudly. Starfire jerked away from Nightwing quickly. Robin noticed her cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

The rest of the group was completely oblivious to the goings-on.

Teen Cyborg continued the conversation. "But," said the robot, "none of this explains why you have no Starfire in your time."

"As Raven said before," elder Raven explained, "When we sent Starfire back, we developed an alternate dimension. You see, when Starfire returned to your time, we created a crack in time. A ripple in the continuum, if you will, which resulted in the development of another dimension, two separate dimensions, the one we reside in now and this one. Now it's like we never had a Starfire in the first place."

"Confusing," teen Beast Boy said.

"How do you know that your knowledge is accurate?" Raven asked.

Nightwing gave a small smile, thinking of Larry, his friend from another dimension. "We have our ways," he said finally.

"Yeah fucking right," Robin muttered under his breath, but Nightwing still heard him. Once again, he ignored it.

"How long do you plan on staying here?" teen Beast Boy asked.

"Well..." Nightwing hesitated. "We never thought about that..."

"Glorious! We have guests!" Starfire beamed at the trans-dimensional travelers. "I wish to 'hang out' until you must return to your dimension."

Nightwing stared into her beautiful green eyes. He could see Robin glaring daggers at him over Starfire's shoulder. If looks could kill, Nightwing would have been dead a long time ago. "That would be nice, Star. I—_we_ would love to," he replied, already thinking of places to take her.

Robin rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair. "Oh, for the love of –"

_DING DONG!_

Elder Beast Boy's eyebrow shot up. "What the –"

_DING DONG! DING DONG!_

"Splendid!" Starfire rose from her position on the couch. "We have more visitors!"

_DING DONG!_

"I forgot how annoying our doorbell was," teen Raven grumbled.

"I forgot we even _had_ a doorbell," said Elder Raven.

_DING DONG!_

"I think you guys should hide," Robin instructed.

"Why?" Nightwing challenged.

"Because that's Kitten at the door, and I don't want her to know that you guys are here. I'm not sure if we should trust her yet."

"Then why the hell did you bring her here?" Nightwing pressed.

"Because I want to know if we should trust her or not." Robin could feel his patience with the spandex clad vigilante dissolve. His fingers twitched, longing to be squeezing the neck of the hero. Anything to shut him up.

Nightwing sat back on the couch for a few seconds, as if thinking it over. His teammates and the younger Titans had already begun to leave, agreeing that they should not be seen yet, but Nightwing was stubborn.

_DING DONG!_

"No," he said finally.

"...What?"

"No. She's already seen me. What's the point of leaving now?"

Robin began to mentally count to ten to calm himself. "She didn't know who you were at the prom. Now, please, leave the room."

_DING DONG!_

Nightwing stood up. "No." He was in Robin's face now. "Because I don't give a –"

_DING DONG!_

"Maybe Robin is right. It would be best if you conceal yourself. We do not want any of our enemies to know of your presence," Starfire said, sensing the growing uneasiness between the two.

Nightwing gave Robin a long glare. "Fine," he said gruffly. Robin inwardly cheered in victory. His happiness vanished, however, when he caught Nightwing giving Starfire what he began to call 'the look'. "I'll go," said the hero, "But not because _he_ told me to." Nightwing caressed Starfire's cheek and gave into the urge to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. With one last look, Nightwing left the Main Room and exited toward the dormitories.

"...And don't even think about going in my room!" Robin shouted, determined to have the last word. He didn't know if Nightwing heard him or not. "Fucking asshole," he grumbled.

_DING DONG! DING DONG!_

"Damn it," the Boy Wonder murmured. He strode over to a smaller screen next to the large one. He stood before the screen and adjusted his hair and took a few calming breaths to make his appearance look less flustered. Starfire wondered why he cared. He punched a black button on the wall near the small screen. Kitten's image appeared. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Kitten. We had some... issues," Robin spoke into the microphone.

The teenage girl's face lit up on the screen. "No problem, Robbie-poo! Don't worry about it!"

Robin resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the nickname. "Right... Come right on up." He pushed another button on the wall, unlocking the front doors.

"Alrighty Robbie!" The screen went black.

Robin rubbed his face, already frustrated with the girl. God, he hated her voice.

"Robin?" Starfire spoke up. The dinging of the elevator announced Kitten's approach to the floor. Once she got the Boy Wonder's attention, she continued. "I think I shall head off to my room of dormancy now, to allow Kitten and you some privacy..."

"No!" Robin almost shouted. He looked at the girl pleadingly. "Please stay. I can't be alone with her. She'll drive me insane! Besides, I might need a second opinion on trusting her. Just, please, stay."

Starfire sighed. "I... Very well..."

Robin grinned. "Thank you."

Just then, the rhythmic ding sound stopped and the elevator doors opened. Kitten practically ran out of them, a bright smile adorning her tanned face. "Robbie-poo! I missed you so much!"

*******

**  
**"White."

"Black."

"Why white?"

"Why black?"

Teenage Raven folded her arms over her chest. "You should know. You were me once."

The older Raven gave a little smile. "Remind me."

"No. Why are you smiling?"

"Because I'm happy."

Raven's eyes narrowed. "Emotions for us are dangerous. You shouldn't be happy." The teenager walked past her counterpart and approached her desk. She picked her mirror up and let the emotions she was feeling flow into it.

"You still have that stupid thing?"

"You don't?"

Older Raven gave the younger one a look that said 'duh'. "Yeah. I found it more... destructive... than it was worth."

The younger Raven shook her head. "I don't understand. How are you able to express emotions freely? If I did what you are doing right now, Earth would be long gone by now."

Elder Raven shrugged. "I can control my powers now. No biggie."

The younger Raven's eyes widened. _'No biggie?'_ Things had definitely changed. "You sound more like a teenager than I do."

"I have to make up for what I wasted away."

Raven glanced at her older counterpart. She was sitting on her bed, hugging her legs, with her chin resting on top of them. A small smile adorned her lips. She looked like... a teenager. Raven never sat like that. "I'm not wasting my teenage years away. I'm just being... cautious."

"Right."

Silence. It was silent for a long time.

"So..."

"So?"

Raven pouted a little, trying out feeling emotion. Her bookcase wobbled and then toppled over. Raven sighed and used her powers to right her furniture. "So, how were you finally able to control your powers?"

Future Raven grinned. "A... friend... taught me."

"Where can I find this friend?"

The older Raven shook her finger back and forth. "Ah, ah, ah. I can't tell. I don't want to screw up the time stream more than it already is. You'll find out sooner or later. Don't worry about it."

Raven nodded. She was tired of living an emotionless life.

*******

"One thousand five, one thousand six... C'mon man, by now I would've been on three thousand!"

"Yeah... right... man..."

"Pick up the pace!"

Cyborg did. "You're... such a... fucking… bad... liar... man... I bet... you can't... even... do this shit anymore..."

The older Cyborg paused. A sly idea came into his head. "Was that a real bet I heard? Two thousand, three hundred, seventy-two..."

"Anytime... man..."

"You're on."

*******

Green eyes stared back into green eyes. One pair blinked, the other blinked. It was like looking into a mirror... sort of.

"Okay, from what I understood from that whole conversation in the Main Room, your time period is, like, totally different from ours, right?"

"Right."

"So the things that happened in your... uh... dimension... probably won't happen in ours?"

"Most likely, no."

"So that means that I won't turn out bald!"

"Oh, no. You will."

"Shit."

*******

Nightwing navigated himself through the familiar hallways of Titan's Tower, his mind set on one destination. He stopped in front of the door.

**EVIDENCE ROOM**

He pushed the door open.

The room was just as he remembered it. It was mostly dark; small spotlights shined down on pieces of evidence which were placed atop pedestals.

Nightwing walked between the displays, reminiscing about every piece of material. One special thing caught Nightwing's attention.

A Slade mask.

Nightwing frowned as he remembered how he obsessed over the villain during his teenage years. He ignored everything, and most importantly, everyone. It took the disappearance of someone he held very close to his heart to realize that Slade didn't matter. None of it really mattered.

He left the room.

*******

"Oh, Robin! I missed you so much!" Kitten embraced Robin in a tight hug.

Robin tried to pry her off of him. He looked at Starfire for help but she was staring at the ceiling, counting the tiles. So much for that. "Missed me? Kitten, it's only been an hour and a half since I saw you last."

"That's too much time to be away from my one and only true love!" Her hold around his neck tightened.

"Kitten... Let go... Can't... breathe..."

"Oh!" Immediately she released Robin. "Sorry, Robbie-poo!"

"Look, Kitten. Could you stop calling me that? I really only consider us... Uh... acquaintances."

"...What?"

"I said, I only consider us –"

"It's her isn't it?" Kitten snapped, pointed across the room at Starfire, who was still counting ceiling panels, completely oblivious.

"Wha...?"

"You're dumping me for her, aren't you?"

"Dumping you?" '_This chick is fucking _crazy_,'_ Robin thought. "Kitten, we..."

"I knew it!" Kitten marched over to a table holding a vase of flowers. She grabbed the vase in her hand. "Robin is mine, you hear?" She threw the vase with all her might toward the Tamaranean.

Starfire was still counting ceiling tiles.

Robin watched as Kitten hurled the vase and his stomach plummeted. His heart pounded in his chest. Even though the danger wasn't large, Robin felt as if Starfire's life was being threatened. He did the only thing that he could do. "STARFIRE!"

Starfire snapped out of her reverie and instinctively released a starbolt at the vase, just before it hit her. She frowned as she incinerated the flowers that it held. "Those were Tamaranean Jujab flowers from home..."

The room was silent for a moment. Robin felt anger rising in his chest.

"Get out," he said calmly.

"Huh?" Kitten said, confused.

"Leave," Robin's voice was a little louder this time.

"What? You're kicking me out? Robbie, she could have easily kicked my ass all over the place if that thing actually hit her..."

"NOW!" Robin shouted.

Kitten gasped at his tone. "Whatever," she replied flippantly. "I didn't like you that much anyway..." she mumbled as she exited in the elevator.

Once she was gone, Robin gazed sadly at his crush. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You did not try to throw a vase at me, she did." Starfire walked up to Robin. "You saved me," she continued. She planted a kiss on Robin's cheek. "My hero," she whispered to him before leaving the room.

Robin just stood there for a long, long time.

*******

Kitten ran as quickly as she could out of Titan's Tower and raced across the bridge of land connecting it to the rest of the city. Once she felt she was a safe distance away, she pulled out a small, circular object.

She began speaking into it. "Master..."

A man's image appeared on the screen of the object. He was shrouded in darkness. "What is it Kitten?"

"I think I have some information that may interest you sir."

"Unless it has something to do with _him_, I don't care."

"Oh, it does. It has everything to do with him."

"Well? Don't waste my time, child."

"His weakness, master. I think I've found his weakness."

The man on the screen's eyes widened with interest. "I'm listening."

Kitten smiled a little, feeling very proud with her discovery. "The orange one. The girl."

The man nodded. "Yes, the Tamaranean..."

"Yes, I know without a doubt that he would do anything for her."

"And what do you plan on doing with this information?"

Kitten sucked in a breath. She hadn't thought that far ahead. She said the first thing that came to mind. "Take her."

The man nodded. "Kidnap? Not very original but it is effective..."

"I know we can lure him to us if we do it..."

"Fine. I do have something I need to test out, and she'll be the perfect guinea pig..." He said. "Fine. You have three days."

Kitten was flabbergasted. "You mean I have to do it alone? Master, please. She could kill me if she wanted to!"

"Well then I guess we'll have to weaken her up, won't we?" Kitten almost shuddered at the sinister look dancing in his eyes. "I'll take care of that part."

"Right."

"You'd better hurry. You only have three days to develop a plan, Kitten."

"Right away. Thank you, Master Slade."

_**...End Chapter 3...**_


	4. Bagel Bungalow

**BACK TO THE PRESENT  
Chapter 4: Bagel Bungalow**

**By Jacque Nicole **

*****  
**

"Morning salutations, everyone!" Starfire's cheery voice echoed through the Main Room as she entered. Her teammates and their look-alikes were scattered about the room, each of them trying to occupy themselves. Not to her surprise, Cyborg was lifting the couch, enabling his older counterpart to search below it; they were looking for the remote. Near them, the Beast Boys were bickering over the music collection; Future Beast Boy suggested that his younger look-alike should consider buying some hip hop CDs but teen Beast Boy insisted that techno was the only type of music he grooved to. The two Ravens had already begun to meditate. Starfire noticed that as they floated near the windows, sitting Indian style in mid air, they contrasted each other; her comrade's darkness clashed the other Raven's light. Nightwing sat in a stool near the kitchen entrance reading a rather large book. Starfire had to squint her eyes to read the title—Stephen King's _IT_. She didn't realize that he had a thing for scary clowns.

Starfire's eyes skimmed over the room again, not finding the one person she was looking for. Suddenly, the door she stood in front of swished open, revealing a very tired Robin.

He yawned. "Mornin' Star." With a gloved hand, he ruffled his unruly black hair, fixing it to his liking.

"Morning salutations, Robin. I was just about to prepare fuzzy blue food for us to consume for breakfast. Would you like to assist me?"

His face paled at the thought of eating more of the science experiment gone wrong that they called food. '_Why doesn't anyone ever go shopping around here?' _he thought. "Actually I was thinking was all could go out for food." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Don't tell the others, but I don't think the food here is safe to eat," he joked.

Starfire giggled. "I am sure it is not." Starfire kept the small smile on her face even after Robin left the room to finish getting ready. "Everyone, please listen!" Everybody, including the two Ravens, turned towards her. "Robin has announced that we will be 'going out' to eat. No fuzzy food this morning!"

"All right!" Cyborg cheered from his position on the couch. He had found the remote and was leaning back in a comfortable position, flipping through channels on the tube. Future Cyborg sat next to him, mimicking his position.

"Great! Where to?" Future Beast Boy asked. He had quit trying to listen to another type of music and had joined the Cyborgs on the couch.

"Denny's, I hope. They've got the best breakfast stuff there," Future Cyborg replied.

"Damn straight!" The two robots slapped hands in agreement.

Raven frowned as she joined the group on the large semi-circular couch. A lamp began to wobble at the other side of the room, but Future Raven was able to catch it with her powers before it fell. Teen Raven immediately stopped frowning. "I refuse to eat such garbage. That stuff will clog up your arteries quicker than you can say 'cheeseburger'."

"Cheeseburger," teen Cyborg said, just out of spite.

"Cheeseburgers? How can you even think of eating those? It's made from a cow! A COW!" Beast Boy said, morphing into a cow for emphasis. "MOO!"

Future Cyborg shrugged. "Cows taste good."

"Cannibals," the older Beast Boy accused.

Starfire sighed. Her teammates had the same argument every day. She moved from her spot near the door and approached Nightwing who was still engrossed in the book. She stood behind him, waiting for him to notice her. After a few seconds, she tapped his shoulder.

Nightwing jerked his body in surprise. He was at a particularly scary part in the book when he felt a tap on the shoulder. "Don't ever do that to me again..." He turned around to see who nudged him. He grinned. "Starfire."

Starfire cast her eyes down, ashamed of disturbing him from his book. "I am sorry, Nightwing. You may return to reading the book of evil clowns if you wish." She began to walk away.

Nightwing caught her hand and pulled her back to him. "No, I do not wish to read the stupid book. I wish to talk with you."

Starfire smiled and blushed, noticing the close proximity of their bodies. "Me too," she replied.

Meanwhile, Robin reentered the room through the large metal doors. His eyes swept over the area and found Starfire talking to Nightwing, but he found that he didn't care much. _'Who had she kissed last night?'_ Robin thought smugly. He was torn from his thoughts when she laughed loudly and made herself comfortable on his lap.

'_Okay, now I care.'_

But he ignored it. He had better things to do than senselessly arguing with Nightwing again. "So guys," he addressed the group. "Did you decide on where to eat?"

"NO!" they simultaneously shouted and continued their arguing.

"How about that new place that opened downtown near the pizza place? Bagel Bungalow, I think it's called," Robin shouted over their voices.

Teen Cyborg wrinkled his nose. "Bagels? Boring..."

"I heard they have doughnuts there too, kind of like Dunkin' Donuts."

Beast Boy perked up at the mention of sugar. "Last one to the T-Car is a klorbag!" Starfire giggled at his misuse of the Tamaranean term.

The older Beast Boy pulled him back down to the couch. "Slow down, eager beaver. We're not all going to fit in the car." He turned to his teammate. "Cyborg, how many does it seat?"

Both robots answered simultaneously. "Five."

"Fine," the younger Beast Boy said. "We can just fly there." The two changelings turned into pigeons and perched on the back of the couch.

"And I can take my motorcycle. Star, wanna ride with me?" Robin asked, taking advantage of the opportunity to be alone with Starfire.

Starfire hopped off of Nightwing's lap much to his displeasure. "Of course!" she said.

Robin smiled widely. "Well then, we're ready. Can we finally get going?"

Nightwing was silent as everyone began to leave the room. He glared at Robin's back as he exited with his arm protectively around Starfire's shoulder.

"Man," a voice said from next to him, surprising the vigilante. Nightwing turned his head toward the voice.

"Cyborg."

Future Cyborg shook his head disapprovingly. "I know how you feel about her, but it looks like someone else feels the same way." Cyborg put his hand on his best friend's shoulder in attempt to comfort him.

Nightwing shrugged it off. He stared at the robot. "Does it look like I fucking care?"

Future Cyborg crossed his arms. "Maybe you _fucking_ should."

Nightwing paused, thinking about what his friend had said. Should he let her go? Should he let Robin win her heart, without as much as a fight? _No fucking way._

Fed up, Cyborg began to leave. "Let it go bro. If you keep going like this it's gonna drive you insane." The door slid shut behind him.

Nightwing looked down at his lap, considering Cyborg's statement. "I think it's too late, bro. I'm already crazy. Crazy in love." He left the book on the coffee table and followed his teammate out of the door.

*******

The ride to the Bagel Bungalow was made in mostly silence except for the music drifting out of the sound system. Nightwing sat in the back seat between the Ravens while the two Cyborgs occupied the front seat. Future Cyborg was at the wheel, much to the annoyance of his younger counterpart, who wanted to have the honors.

Nightwing turned his head to look out the back window, trying to drown out the sound of the annoying boy band tune that was playing from the radio. His eyes swept over the perfect form of his goddess. She rode on the back of the R-Cycle, her long red hair flowing in the wind from under her helmet. Her mouth was moving. Nightwing assumed she was saying something to Robin, whose waist she had her arms tightly around. Robin said something and Starfire took a firmer grip of his waist. All of a sudden, Robin's front wheel of the motorcycle rose, and he began riding on the back wheel.

"Smart ass little showoff..." Nightwing grumbled before he turned back around in his seat and folded his arms, feeling an emotion that he had been feeling often lately. Jealousy.

*******

"AHHH!" Starfire screamed as the front of the motorcycle lifted.

Robin laughed. "I told you I could do it!"

"Yes, you did. I should have known better than to doubt you." She shrieked as the bike gave a lurch. She gripped Robin's waist tighter, but the Boy Wonder didn't mind. "Ummm, I would like to come down now, please."

"Oh, sure," he replied, slightly embarrassed. He let the bike down as gently as he could, but Starfire gave a little yelp when it roughly hit the ground.

Robin revved the engine and sped down the street behind the T-Car. He could feel Starfire's head resting on the crook of his neck, her warm breath tickling him in the cool spring air. He never wanted the moment to end.

"Robin!" Starfire's urgent voice whispered in his ear. "Slow down!"

Robin immediately slowed to prevent hitting the T-Car. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed they'd arrived at the Bagel Bungalow.

He turned off the bike as everyone in the T-Car began to pile out.

"So this is the place, huh?" Teenage Cyborg said, observing the building decorated as a hut as he stepped out of the vehicle.

"Yeah, the food's supposed to be great," Robin replied, combing his hand through his windblown hair.

"Delightful. Let us enter, then," Starfire said as she disappeared through the doors. The group began to follow after her. Before Robin entered he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"I saw what you did on your bike," Nightwing said stonily. "Very impressive." Robin knew he was being sarcastic.

The Boy Wonder narrowed his eyes. "Thanks." Then he walked through the double doors, resisting the urge to scream at the man following him.

*******

"...And then, he bet me he could lift more weights than I could!"

The Teen Titans roared in laughter at their teammate's story.

Robin glanced at the older Cyborg with humor still dancing in his eyes under his mask. "You know, you're really funny."

Elder Cyborg opened his mouth to retort, but Nightwing beat him to it. "And why, pray tell, is he funny?"

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Well, Cy _is_ the strongest guy I know."

"And Cyborg," Nightwing tilted his head toward his friend, "is the strongest guy _I _know."

Starfire sat back in her seat and chewed her bagel. Her eyes went back and forth between the two vigilantes as their argument continued. _'Sometimes males are so odd,' _she thought to herself in bewilderment. _'Who cares which one was stronger? Aren't they both pretty much the same person anyway?'_

"Fine then!" Robin's words jarred her from her thoughts. "Cyborg challenges Cyborg to a weightlifting match. Winner gets the title of strongest man in the world!"

Elder Cyborg once again opened his mouth to retort.

"Cyborg accepts!" Nightwing interrupted his friend. "Tonight at six in the gym. Be there."

"Oh, we will be. We will be." And with that, both Nightwing and Robin left the table in opposite directions.

Teen Cyborg sighed and muttered, "That's what we were planning on doing tonight... minus the drama."

The group sat the table in silence. After a couple of minutes, Elder Beast Boy's words brought everyone out of their brooding states.

"Hey, who's paying the bill?"

*******

"Master Slade, step one of the plan is complete. I have sent one of the Slade-bots out to insure that she'll be where we want her to be the day of the apprehension."

"Incognito?"

"Of course, sir. They won't suspect a thing."

"Excellent."

*******

Nightwing leaned against the T-Car, waiting for his company outside of the Bagel Bungalow. Out the corner of his eye, he could see a crowd of people accumulating in the middle of the busy sidewalks. He let his curiosity get the best of him and joined the group.

"Come one; come all to Wilson's Three Ring Circus! Come and have the time of your lives!" A buff man stood in a suit atop a wooden crate. He wore purple slacks with a rainbow checkered tunic. An immense sombrero-like hat was on his head, shadowing his face from his audience. He was swiftly passing out fliers to the awaiting crowd. As soon as he reached out to take one, Nightwing found that there was already one in his hand.

WILSON'S THREE RING CIRCUS

5/13 - 5/20

The chance of a lifetime!

Bring family, friends, or that special someone

The smile on Nightwing's face grew. _'Perfect._'

_**...End Chapter 4...**_


	5. Affection

**BACK TO THE PRESENT  
Chapter 5: Affection**

**By Jacque Nicole**

*****  
**

The day at Titans' Tower was endured in an uncomfortably tense silence, the negative energy between Nightwing and Robin making all of the Titans antsy. Even as the two heroic teams filed into the Main Room of the tower, there still hadn't been a word uttered between them. Upon entering, Robin grabbed Teen Cyborg and escorted him to the gym to prepare for the face-off. The older robot shrugged nonchalantly before grabbing a ham from the refrigerator and disappearing. Soon the Beast Boys and Ravens filtered out, once again leaving Nightwing and Starfire completely alone.

'_This is the opportune moment to ask her,' _thought the vigilante to himself. He took in a shaky, anxious breath._ 'I haven't been this nervous to ask a girl out since Barbara Gordon.'_

"Who is Barbara Gordon?" tinkered Starfire's voice.

"Oh!" Nightwing's cheeks heated up. "I hadn't realized that I said that aloud. She's no one."

"She wouldn't be in your thoughts if she was just a no one. Who is she?" asked the Tamaranean curiously.

Nightwing sighed as he flopped down on the couch, the Circus flier crumbling loudly in his back pocket as he sat on it. "No, really, Star. Just forget about it. Her and I... we're all in the past now."

Starfire shrugged indifferently, dismissing the topic. "What are you sitting on?" she asked.

'_So many questions!' _Nightwing thought, exasperated. "Oh, this?" he pulled the crushed flier out of his pocket. He unfolded the paper and handed it to his companion. "It's just a flier for a circus," he told her. "I'd really like to go, but I don't have anyone to accompany me," he added cunningly.

Starfire's eyes skimmed over the words on the flier, eyes growing in interest. "I have never been to a circus before..." She lowered herself onto the couch, still enthralled with the images of clowns and trapeze artists that decorated the paper. "Have you ever been to one?" she questioned, clearly avoiding Nightwing's subtle invitation.

Nightwing's face almost sank in defeat before he remembered what he had told himself just the day before._ 'There's no way that I'm going to let her slip through my fingers again,'_ he reminded himself firmly. "Actually," he replied, "my parents were trapeze artists in a circus."

"Really? I wonder why Robin never told me that before..."

"It's very personal information. I used to perform with them before they... died. That's part of the reason why I'm so agile now."

"How did they...?"

"They were murdered. Someone tampered with their wiring."

"Oh! Oh, I am sorry. I did not know. Robin never told me." She paused for a moment in thought.

"That's one thing I do not understand about Earth. What satisfaction does one get from taking the life of another?"

Nightwing had no answer.

*******

"Robin, don't you think you're taking this a little too seriously? This is supposed to be a _friendly_ competition!" Teen Cyborg said as he easily benched one thousand pounds.

"It's more than just a friendly competition, Cyborg," came the Boy Wonder's gruff reply as he assaulted a punching bag nearby.

"Come on, Robin," replied Cyborg as he began lifting the weight with one arm. "What the hell are you trying to prove?"

Robin paused his punches before continuing with more vigor. "I fucking _hate_ Nightwing."

"For what reason? Just because he's becoming friends with Starfire? Are you jealous or something?"

Robin paused again and squeezed his sweaty, red hands into fists in frustration. "Nightwing does not _just_ want to be _friends_ with Starfire. He's taking advantage of her and it's _not right_. He had his chance to be with her. He doesn't have to take away mine!" Robin sucked in a few breaths to calm his nerves and relax his tense muscles. "Cy," he said to his best friend, "I love her; you know that. I don't want anything or anyone to interfere with our relationship... however nonexistent it is. Don't you understand?"

Cyborg lowered the half ton weight back onto the gym floor and crossed his arms. "Of course I understand – and I'll always back you up one hundred percent – but try to consider what Starfire wants. She wants to be close with Nightwing like she's close with you. Who are you to stop her?"

Robin answered with silence.

Cyborg sighed. "Maybe you should go talk to her. Get it all out of your system. Let her know how you feel."

After some consideration, the Boy Wonder nodded in agreement and left Cyborg alone to his training.

*******

Nightwing stared deeply into Starfire's eyes, entranced by the way shades of green embraced each other to create the most beautiful colors he had ever seen. Deep within her emerald orbs Nightwing could see millions of emotions – contentment, comfort, and wisdom, just to name a few – but he could not find the only one he had hoped to see in her – love. With a loud sigh, Nightwing leaned back into the cushions and closed his eyes. He heard Starfire shift in her position and felt her rest her head on his arm.

After a moment, she spoke. "The circus sounds like such an interesting place... I can think of no one better to go with on my first time than you."

'_What about Robin?'_ The words were at the tip of his tongue, but he did not speak them, in fear of ruining the moment. "Neither can I, Star," he replied, leaning into her embrace. "Neither can I."

They stayed like that for what seemed like forever to Nightwing before he got the strange sensation that they were being watched. He slowly turned his head to look behind the couch and got an eyeful of a blaring red and green costume.

Robin.

Nightwing's smirk grew from one of contentment to one of gloating. "Robin..." his voice drawled.

Starfire's head snapped up at the name. "Robin?"

"Starfire," Robin's deep, grating voice responded.

The Tamaranean girl jumped about a foot away from the futuristic hero. "Robin! We were just... uh..."

"Maybe I should go," Nightwing said, excusing himself from the two teenagers.

Starfire stared at Robin with a deep blush covering her cheeks as the older hero left the room. "Robin, I – "

"What the fuck was _that_ about?!" he yelled.

…_**End Chapter 5…**_

_**Note:**__ Barbara Gordon is Batgirl. In the Batman Comics, Dick Grayson (Robin) had a relationship with her._


	6. The Argument

**BACK TO THE PRESENT**_**  
**_**Chapter 6: The Argument**

**By: Jacque Nicole **

*****  
**

Robin's uncharacteristic outburst echoed over and over again in Starfire's mind. She'd never felt so guilty, especially for something that she shouldn't feel guilty for in the first place. Starfire stared at the Boy Wonder and imagined a torrent of emotions swirling through his eyes behind his mask – emotions that were identical to her own, no doubt. Countless unfamiliar feelings were fogging Starfire's brain, and she channeled them out the only way she could – with anger.

Starfire shot up from the sofa, a blazing rage toward her best friend clouding her rational side. She marched up to the Boy Wonder slowly until she stood directly in front of him, only a foot away from his prone form. A deep sound resembling a growl resounded from deep in Robin's throat as if in warning for an oncoming verbal onslaught.

Before Robin could even begin another outburst, Starfire interjected.

Starfire raised a dainty finger and aimed it directly at Robin's uniformed chest. "You have _no_ right," the Tamaranean teen growled out, each word punctuated by a jab to the chest. "You have no right to speak to me in that way." She took a deep soothing breath to calm her anger. "If you ever decide to keep your _beak_ out of my personal life and mind your own business, you may come speak with me." Her hair flared as she made a sharp turn toward the door. "I shall reside in my quarters."

Before she could even take two steps, Robin's gloved hand shot out and gripped her wrist. He yanked on it, causing her to twirl around and land directly in his arms. He pulled her even closer by instinct. _'God,' _Robin thought as he caught a whiff of her strawberry scented hair, _'this feels _so _right.'_ He felt her lithe body begin to tremble, from rage, the sudden chill in the room, or something else, he did not know.

"Star," he began gently, in a whisper. "You _are_ my business."

The Tamaranean girl shot out of Robin's arms, as if she'd burned herself. "How dare you say that? You know nothing – _nothing – _about me and what I want. I certainly know absolutely nothing about you."

This shocked Robin. "Star, how could you say that? I've told you everything – "

"_Shit of bulls!_" This shook Robin to the core. Starfire never – _ever – _swore. "How could you persist lying to me?" By now, small crystalline tears shimmered in her eyes. "I believed..." She broke off with a tiny sob. "I believed," she began again, voice stronger; "we were friends."

"Starfire," sighed the Boy Wonder, "we _are_ friends –– "

"No! Friends do not lie. Friends do not stop other friends from making even more friends. Robin, we are _not_ friends."

There was a long silence between two teammates filled only by the sound of Starfire's heels as she walked through the doors. She stopped and let out an ironic chuckle. "You know," she said, her back facing the boy. "I learned more about you from Nightwing in five minutes than I learned from you in two years."

At this, Robin face flushed red in fury and he began shaking. "I am so _sick_ and _tired_ of hearing about Nightwing. Ever since he came here, all I hear from everyone is 'Nightwing _this_ and Nightwing _that_.' Well, do you know what _I_ have to say about him?"

Starfire already knew what Robin thought about Nightwing, but she knew he'd tell her anyway.

"_FUCK NIGHTWING!_" Robin nearly screamed. "Who the hell does he think he is, walking into my life and screwing it all up?" Robin found himself stalking over toward Starfire as he yelled. "Who does he think he is, taking all my friends away from me? Controlling my team like he's the leader? Stealing the love of my life away?" By now, Robin stood directly behind Starfire, breathing heavily on her neck. "Tell me Star..." he whispered in her ear, warm breath tickling her lobes. "Who does Nightwing think he is?" A tear fell down her face, and Robin's voice became gratingly low. "_Who_?"

Starfire took in a shuddering breath, unable to speak. She had never seen Robin so furious before and she couldn't deny that it scared her... a lot. He was still breathing into her ear and on her neck, and Starfire held her breath as she felt the feeling disappear as she walked away from him. With her head held high, she walked right out of the room.

All Robin could do was stare.

And behind the door, Starfire collapsed in tears.

*******

That was how Nightwing found her, minutes later. Unwilling to disturb her, he picked up her delicate figure from where she sat in anguish on the floor. Nightwing quenched the urge to grin as Star wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his sculptured shoulder.

As Nightwing carried her toward the direction of her room, Starfire tried to grasp what had just happened in the Main Room and failed miserably. Was her hard earned friendship with Robin over? Starfire certainly hoped not; she already felt terribly sorry for everything she said, but she knew that if she saw Robin again, she'd say it all over again. Besides, over the past couple of weeks, her feelings toward Robin had increased tenfold to an emotion that Starfire could not – or maybe she was afraid to? – identify. Still, she was eager to explore the new affections, but after that terrible argument, she knew that Robin probably hated her and wanted absolutely nothing to do with her.

Whatever the case, Starfire knew that being in the arms of the subject of their fight was not where she wanted to be.

"Please Nightwing, release me," she said in barely a whisper, and Nightwing wasn't quite sure he heard it at all. He stopped in the middle of the hallway, unsure of what to do. Starfire made the decision for him, disentangling herself from his grasp and sliding to the floor.

"Thank you," the Tamaranean said simply, before knocking on a nearby door. Nightwing racked his brain, trying to remember whose room it was.

The door slid open and revealed darkness. Raven, Starfire's teammate, stepped forward. "What?" she grumbled monotonously.

"Raven, I seek guidance," Starfire told her, voice wavering.

Raven did not need to use her psychic abilities to know that her cheery friend had been crying. Her eyes were puffy and red, and fresh salty streaks trailed down her face. Raven's eyes left from Starfire and concentrated on Nightwing. She could tell by the tension that Starfire gave off that her need for advice had to deal with him.

The door to her room opened wider, revealing the Raven of the future. As soon as she laid eyes on Starfire's distressed face she gave a startled gasp. "Oh my, Star. What happened to you?" Before Starfire could respond, she continued, "Come on in and tell Raven _all _about it." With that, she dragged the shocked teen through the door and into the darkness of the room.

The teenage Raven gave Nightwing one more glare before the door slid closed.

*******

Robin was at a loss of words. He never blew up at _anyone _– except maybe Batman. He especially never thought he'd lose his temper and take it out on Starfire. Seeing them together on the couch talking about going to the circus together... He'd never felt more envious toward Nightwing than he had at that moment.

Robin sat on the semi circular sofa, contemplating his situation. Was this the end of him and Star? Was there ever a 'Robin and Starfire' to begin with?

Robin held his head in woe. To not have Starfire in his life would be utter torture. He would always be thinking about what could have been instead of what _was._

The steel doors _swoosh_ed open, and Robin knew who it was before they even spoke.

"What did you _do _to her?" Nightwing's accusing voice resounded in the large empty room. "Do you know how I found her? Do you?"

"I have a feeling you're going to tell me."

Nightwing ignored him. "She was bawling her eyes out on the ground," he said. "What did you _do_?"

"Leave me alone Nightwing."

"You think that just because you are the leader of this team that you can blow up at anybody you want without any consequences?! Think again!"

"Shut up and get the fuck out of my face," Robin responded, not too happily. "I'm _not_ in a good mood."

"Too _fucking _bad," said the futuristic vigilante as he approached the Boy Wonder. "Deal with it."

As Nightwing sat on the couch, Robin stood up. "Look, I'm going to be the bigger man here and leave. I know that if I'm near you for another second I'll kill you and I know that Starfire definitely wouldn't want to talk to me ever again if I did that." And with that, Robin walked out.

*******

The older Raven sat back on the black beanbag chair her counterpart had in her room as Starfire finished her story. The smile that she once held on her face had disappeared and was replaced with a look of concern. The younger Raven remained stoic, as she always did.

Recounting the event wasn't as upsetting as Starfire thought it would be. In fact, it felt like she was lifting an unbearable load off of her shoulders, although she was still unsure of what to do about her situation.

"So you and Robin had a fight. One of you will apologize tomorrow and it'll be over with. Get over it," the younger Raven said.

"No, I don't think it was _just_ a fight, but I do know that everything will turn out fine with you and Robin, Starfire. Don't sweat over it," the older Raven put her two cents in.

"I am grateful for your input but what am I supposed to do about Nightwing? I promised him I would accompany him to the circus," Starfire said worriedly.

"Go with him. A promise is a promise," her teammate told her.

"Just don't do anything that I wouldn't do, okay?"

And with that sound advice, Starfire left for her room.

*******

"Kitten, is it ready yet? I'm becoming _very _impatient."

"It's only a matter of time, Master Slade. By this time tomorrow, the Titan's will be no more."

"_Excellent..._"

_**...End Chapter 6...**_


	7. The Circus

**BACK TO THE PRESENT  
Chapter 7: The Circus**

**By Jacque Nicole **

*****  
**

The next morning began fairly normally. Starfire was busy in the kitchen, happily preparing breakfast for the group, although her mood was slightly tainted due to the previous day's events. The older and younger Cyborgs sat at the breakfast table discussing technologic mumbo-jumbo that Starfire knew she'd never understand. Opposite the Cyborgs, the Ravens discussed their home planet of Azarath over their morning beverage of choice – the older Raven sipping a mug full of coffee and the younger Raven opting for tea. There was no mystery to where the Beast Boys were – still sound asleep. Everyone was accounted for – everyone except Robin and Nightwing.

The fact that both Nightwing and Robin were missing did not worry Starfire as much as it usually would have. After the events of the previous evening, she was not eager to speak with either of them. If they both were to drop off the face of the earth, Starfire wouldn't have minded much. At least then she wouldn't have to face them.

Starfire turned off the electric stove and placed the freshly cooked food in plates, her mind still occupied by the two vigilantes. Subconsciously, she placed the dishes in front of each Titan before sliding into a vacant seat.

"Yes! My favorite – bacon and eggs! Thanks Star!" Young Cyborg shouted, unknowingly bringing his Tamaranean friend out of her stupor.

"Yes, Cyborg. I knew you would enjoy the bacon and the eggs meal. You are very welcome," she replied. She rested her head in her arms on the table, mentally exhausted.

Sensing her distress, the older Raven tried to comfort the girl. "Starfire," she whispered in the red head's ear. "Are you all right?"

Starfire gave a weak nod and replied, "Yes, I am fine. It is just that –"

She was cut off by the sound of the kitchen door creaking open. Out of curiosity, Starfire's head shot up to see who just entered the kitchen. Starfire's emerald eyes widened as they stared into wide masked eyes.

Robin and Starfire stared at each other moment, both of them feeling as if it were a century before they diverted their gazes. There was an awkward silence in the kitchen which went unnoticed by the Cyborgs, who still knew nothing about the argument Robin and Starfire had the night before.

The awkward moment was interrupted when the Beast Boys sleepily clamored through the swinging doors. As they made their way toward empty chairs, Robin chose to occupy the one next to Starfire.

"Star," he whispered under everyone's chatter. "We need to talk."

As soon as the words left Robin's mouth one more person sauntered into the kitchen.

"Good morning, everyone!" Nightwing said with a huge smile on his face. "Isn't it just a wonderful morning?"

"Have you been drinking or something?" The older Cyborg asked with a raised eyebrow. Nightwing shook his head and chuckled in response. "Then why the hell are you so happy this early in the morning?"

"Oh, no reason. It's just that Starfire and I are going to have a great time at the circus tonight," Nightwing said as he stole a piece of bacon off of the stove. "Actually, that's what I came in here for. I wanted to talk to her about tonight's details." He glanced toward where she sat, making eye contact with the Boy Wonder. "...that is, if you don't mind me stealing her away for a second."

'_Isn't that what you're trying to do anyway?'_ thought Robin to himself. "Actually –" he began.

"No, no. I am certain Robin does not mind," interrupted the red head. "Do you, Robin?"

"Starfire –"

"Splendid!" was her last word as she dragged Nightwing out the door, happy to get away from the Boy Wonder.

Nightwing chuckled as Starfire pulled him toward the couch. "I didn't know you were so eager to talk to me."

Starfire's face heated up in embarrassment. She let go of Nightwing like he had the plague. "I am sorry about that. It is just that... I do not think I am ready to talk to Robin yet. He deeply hurt my feelings last night."

"Don't worry about it. I understand." Nightwing sat on the couch and yanked on Starfire's hand, dragging her down with him. "Tonight you'll be able to take your mind off of Robin. We're going to have a great time."

The door to the kitchen burst open and Robin stepped out. Upon sight, Starfire wrenched her hand away from Nightwing, and the Boy Wonder happened to see the movement. He stared at the pair, maybe a little longer that he should have, considering that it was obvious, to him anyway, that Starfire wasn't interested in him the way he was with her. _'But,'_ he thought to himself, _'if she didn't care at all, why would she try to hide what she has with Nightwing from me?'_

Robin averted his eyes from the couple and silently excused himself from the room.

Nightwing and Starfire watched as the doors slid shut behind Robin. There was a strange awkward silence between the two, as if their special moment was tainted by the Boy Wonder's brief appearance.

"Well, that was strange," Nightwing said. "I wonder why he just came and left like that," he continued, taking hold of Starfire's hand as he held it before Robin came into the room.

"Uh, Nightwing?" Starfire gently slid Nightwing's hand off of hers. "I do not think we should commence in hand holding right now."

"Oh. Well... That's fine." There was another drawn out silence between the two before it became unbearable. Starfire became so uncomfortable; she started squirming in her seat, making sure she didn't look Nightwing in the eye after such an embarrassing ordeal.

"What time would you like to leave tonight?" asked Nightwing, shattering the quiet.

"It does not matter to me," Starfire replied quietly.

"Eight o' clock it is, then."

There was another brief lack of conversation.

"You know what? I think you'll love the circus. It's so happy and beautiful – like you." Starfire blushed deeply at the comment. Nightwing continued, "You'd get to see what I did as a child. Trapeze artists and tightrope walkers are truly graceful."

"I can imagine," said Starfire as she fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat.

"You know, I am a bit surprised that Robin hasn't told you about them."

The mention of Robin's secrecy hit a soft spot in Starfire. "So am I," she said, thinking of all the things she told Robin during the argument they had.

Nightwing could see that Starfire needed some time alone, so he excused himself. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, then," he said as he rose from the couch.

Starfire rose quickly with him. "Yes. I shall 'catch you on you on the flip side,' correct?"

He chuckled. "Right. See you later, Star." And after delivering a delicate kiss on the Tamaranean's hand – during which, Starfire blushed in embarrassment – Nightwing left Starfire alone to, once again, ponder over her feelings.

*******

Hours flew by in what seemed like seconds, and it was now about seven thirty, half an hour before Nightwing told her that they'd be leaving, and Starfire was locked up in her room by herself. She looked at herself up and down in the mirror, carefully scrutinizing her outfit.

Instead of wearing her uniform, she chose to wear civilian clothing on her date. She felt a bit uncomfortable in her tight low riser jeans and purple tank top, but as she looked at herself she resembled an average teenage human girl.

Meanwhile, down the hallway, Robin leaned against the wall, contemplating if he should try to talk to Starfire again.

When he finally mustered up the courage to speak with her, the two Ravens walked right past him and toward Starfire's room. The doors slid open as Starfire allowed the pair in, but did not slide completely shut after the entered, allowing anything they said to be heard in the hallway.

Normally, Robin was not an eavesdropper. Under average circumstances, Robin would have left the girls alone in privacy, but now he was so eager to hear what Starfire would divulge to them that he decided to listen in on their conversation.

In the meantime, Starfire was glad to see the two Ravens at the other side of her door. She happily stepped aside to let them inside, knowing that she'd feel better after talking to them.

"Greetings friends!" she said happily.

"Hey Star!" the older Raven replied. She looked up and down at her attire and nodded approvingly. "We came here to help you pick out some clothes for tonight, but it looks like you've done that already."

"No, _she_ wanted to help you pick out clothes. I just had nothing better to do," teenage Raven clarified.

"Well, the purpose of your visit does not matter. I am glad you decided to grace me with your presence."

"No prob," said Future Raven. "So... are you excited about your date tonight?"

"Well... I am certain that Nightwing and I will have fun," the Tamaranean replied.

"But you're not excited?"

"No, I fear not," replied Starfire. "I was when he first invited me to accompany him, but now I am more confused than anything."

"Confused? About what?" questioned the older Raven.

"About Nightwing and Robin," the teenage Raven answered for her teammate. "Her emotions confuse her."

Outside the door, Robin was puzzled. _'What does Raven mean by that? Is there was a possibility that Starfire actually had some feelings for me?_'

"Yes. I have never felt this way before," Starfire said as she sat on her bed in the room. "I feel something special toward them both but Robin... Robin is very dear to me but... I wish he would open up to me."

"Starfire, you have to understand that that's just the kind of guy Robin is. He just doesn't do that type of thing," said teen Raven.

"But it hurts me when he does not speak to me or tell me about himself. I wish to know everything about him – his past, his likes and dislikes... Did you know that I've never seen him without his mask?" She sighed sadly. "It almost seems like he hides behind it. I just wish he was as comfortable with me as he is with the rest of you." She looked at her friends dejectedly. "Is that normal?"

In the hallway, Robin raised a gloved hand to his mask. _'She wants to see me... the _real_ me...' _His head shot up as he heard distant footsteps heading for the hallway he was in. Deftly, Robin rounded into the opposite corridor just before Nightwing entered the hall he was previously in.

"Perfectly normal," said the older Raven back in Starfire's room, "Starfire, I wish I could help you, but I've never really felt that way toward anyone." The other Raven nodded in agreement.

"It is all right, friends. I am not sure anyone can help me anymore. I just had to 'get it off of my chest,' correct?"

Just then, there were three quick knocks in Starfire's door. Starfire hopped off of her bed and walked toward her door. She pressed a button so that the door would slide open. The sight that greeted her made her gasp.

Nightwing stood in her door decked out in casual clothes, as she was. He wore a pair of khaki pants and a red Hollister t-shirt. His shoes were a pair of sandals, and a watch graced his left wrist while a hemp bracelet embraced the other one. But none of this is what made her take short breaths in shock.

He was not wearing his mask.

Starfire stared deeply into Nightwing's eyes, drowning in their depths. They were a piercing blue that hypnotized Starfire with their beauty.

"Wow Star. You look fantastic," he said, his eyes automatically darting toward her cleavage. He forced himself to look at her face. He didn't want his hormones to screw this up for him. "I guess great minds think alike, huh?" He said, pointing to her casual outfit and then at his.

His comments fell on deaf ears. "Your mask..." Starfire said, reaching up to Nightwing's face in amazement.

He shrugged nonchalantly, not noticing Starfire's brief speechlessness. "Yea, I decided not to wear it. I figure it doesn't matter if someone sees my face since this isn't my dimension anyway."

The two forgotten Ravens looked at each other and then at the scene before them before speaking. "Nightwing, what are you _wearing?_" the older Raven asked with a disapproving frown.

Nightwing looked up at them, just noticing their presence. "Oh, you don't like it? I figured the surfer look would help me blend in better, especially with my long hair. And Starfire's 'catch you on the flip side' comment sealed the deal," he said, winking at his date.

"As long as you never, _ever_ wear it again, I'll let it slide," said the older Raven as she and her counterpart left the room.

Nightwing offered his arm to Starfire. "Ready to head out?"

She gave him a small smile and hooked her arm with his. "As ready as I will ever be."

*******

Cyborg allowed the pair to borrow the T-Car for the night. The ride to the circus grounds was filled with comfortable small talk and sing-alongs with the radio. After arriving, finding seats in the crowded big top proved to be a challenge, but after a few minutes, Starfire and Nightwing were able to sit down together fairly close to the ring.

The show was full of amazing sights and feats. When the trapeze artist and tightrope walkers performed, Nightwing explained the tricks of how to keep synchronized on the swing bars and balanced on the suspended ropes. Starfire was shocked by the lion tamer's performance and adored the elephants. Several clowns rode around in their mini car and made the audience laugh with their hilarious hijinks.

When the performance was over the several thousand people in the big top all gathered around the exit, beginning to leave.

"So, how did you like the show?" Nightwing asked as he walked along with the flow of people.

"It was most glorious! All the acts were simply amazing, especially the clowns. They were so funny!" Starfire answered happily.

"Well, I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself." Nightwing said, but was interrupted by a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around to spot a girl who looked strangely familiar.

"Hey there," she purred with a saucy smile. "Remember me?" she asked tossing, her long brown hair over her shoulder. It gently brushed across Nightwing's face, and he smelled the most beautiful smelling scent that he'd ever smelled.

Nightwing tried to remember her face. After a moment, it came to him. "Aren't you one of the girls by the punch bowl at the prom?"

"So you do remember me!" she replied, hooking herself on to Nightwing like a leech and starting a conversation as they headed toward the exit.

*******

Starfire looked at the curvaceous brunette with angry eyes as she tried to walk while rubbing as much of her body on him as possible, and Nightwing, being the man that he was, did not try to stop her. _'Disgusting klorbag!'_ thought Starfire vehemently.

After being pushed around in the crowd like a rag doll, Starfire gave up trying to get Nightwing's attention back as she spotted a group of clowns all leaving out of another exit. Out of curiosity, she followed them.

The hallway behind the doors was dark, but Starfire followed the sound of the clowns squeaky shoes and high pitched voices as they walked down the corridor. Suddenly, the soft squeaks disappeared and was replaced by and eerie silence.

"Oof!" Starfire mumbled as she collided with a wall. She used her powers to generate a light in her hand. She carefully examined all the walls for any exit the clowns may have used but could not find a door anywhere. "That's peculiar. I wonder where they went."

Just as she turned around she felt something pointed pierce her arm. She immediately fired several starbolts in defense but they were in vain. Her attacker had seemingly disappeared. She rubbed her arm then held up a glowing hand to it. A small puncture wound surrounded by a sore red rash graced her bicep.

"What was that?" she asked herself in a daze as she scratched the rash. Suddenly, she began to get dizzy. Her balance wavered as she tried to walk back to the entrance of the dark corridor.

"Where do you think you're going, my dear?" a deep, unearthly voice boomed in her ears.

Starfire whirled around, starbolts ready. "Who are you? Where are you?" By now the dizziness was unbearable, fogging her brain of coherent thoughts.

"Stop fighting it, my dear," the voice said. Now, instead of being boomingly loud, the voice acquired a lulling tone to Starfire. It was hard for her to even keep her eyes open. "Stop fighting it," he repeated. "Go to sleep."

And Starfire's world went black.

*******

Outside the big top, Nightwing said good bye to his new acquaintance, Laura. "She was nice, wasn't she, Star?" he asked in a daze. At her lack of response, Nightwing turned around and was shocked to see that his date wasn't following him. He shook his head to clear his clouded mind. "Star?" he shouted over the noise of the crowd. "Star? Starfire? Where are you?" Nightwing began to become a little frantic. It wasn't like Starfire to wander away and not respond when called.

Nightwing struggled to get back into the big top against the flow of the people trying to get out. He managed to slip back in as the crowd began to dwindle.

Starfire was nowhere in sight. Nightwing began to call her name again, but had no answers.

He exited the big top, only to come to a nearly empty circus ground. _'Maybe she's waiting for me at the car,' _Nightwing desperately thought as he took off in nearly a run toward where he parked the T-Car.

As he approached the vehicle, he could see that there was no one near or inside it.

Now, Nightwing was fully frenzied. _'Calm down, Nightwing,' _he told himself. _'Starfire's a big girl. She can take care of herself...'_

As Nightwing hesitantly slid into the driver's seat, he looked back at the circus grounds in the rear view window.

'_Starfire _can_ take care of herself... Right?' _

_**...End Chapter 7...**_


	8. Slade's Message

**BACK TO THE PRESENT**_**  
**_**Chapter 8: Slade's Message**

**By: Jacque Nicole**

*****  
**

It was almost midnight, and Nightwing and Starfire still hadn't returned from their date.

Robin was beginning to worry.

As if the Boy Wonder wasn't stressed out enough, having the pair missing for so long was _agonizing_.

'_What could they be doing this late at night?' _Robin wondered to himself. _'There's nothing they could do at this hour... unless...' _His mind took a turned for the worse. _'Nightwing better not have taken advantage of her...' _As Robin stormed into the Main Room, more and more heinous scenarios formed in his head.

"Are they here yet?" bellowed the Boy Wonder.

Teenage Raven, who was fully consumed in the _Book of Azarath_ before Robin's uncharacteristic interruption, lowered it from her face. "No," she informed lamely, and then resumed her reading.

As always, the two Ravens never strayed far from one another. Future Raven was sitting right next to her younger counterpart on the couch, busy playing teen Beast Boy in Mega Monkeys 3. The older Beast Boy was cheering on his younger self while the Cyborgs sat alone, having already been defeated by the changeling.

"Give it up, Raven. No one can beat me. I'm the master of Mega Monkeys 3," taunted Beast Boy.

"Yea right," Future Raven shot at Beast Boy, who promptly turned into a monkey to prove his point.

Robin was becoming more and more frustrated by the group's nonchalance. "Doesn't anyone else find it strange that it's past midnight and Nightwing and Starfire aren't back yet?"

Everyone in the room turned to Robin. "No," they said in unison, and then resumed what they were doing.

Robin frowned. "I think you are all taking this too lightly. There might –"

"– there might be absolutely nothing wrong. You worry too much, dude. They're just having fun," the older Beast Boy said

And just then, the phone rang.

*******

Nightwing's eyes darted from the road to the rearview mirror and back again in worry. _'Maybe she flew home,'_ he thought hopefully. He deftly dialed the number to Titans' Tower on the T-Car's in-car phone. After a few rings, someone finally answered.

*******

Teen Cyborg snatched the wireless phone off of its charger.

"Yo, Titans' Tower. Cyborg speaking."

"Oh, hey Cyborg. It's Nightwing," greeted the vigilante.

Cyborg covered the mouthpiece with his hand to mute the voices in the background. "It's Nightwing," he said to the group.

Robin perked up. "Let me talk to him," he insisted.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," teen Raven said. She used her powers to sit Robin on the couch.

"I need to find out what's taking them so long!" Robin growled out, struggling against his teammate's magic.

"Stop being so nosy."

"Hey Nightwing," said Cyborg into the phone. "It's pretty late..." he hinted.

"Oh, I know. I'm sorry about calling right now. Did I disturb anyone?"

"Don't worry about it," said Cyborg. "Dates tend to make people lose track of time. No one was sleeping yet, anyway."

Nightwing gave a nervous laugh. "Right... dates. Actually, that's what I'm calling about."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "Do you need dating advice?"

"No!" Nightwing blurted out. "No, it's about Starfire."

"Oh." There was a pause between the two as Cyborg cast a weary glance toward Robin. "Is something wrong?"

"No... I was just wondering if she was at the tower."

"What?" Cyborg was confused. "What do you mean? Isn't she with you?"

Nightwing's heart plummeted. "You mean she's not at the tower?"

"You mean she's not with you?!" Cyborg whispered incredulously.

"M-maybe she's on her way..." he said, trying to convince Cyborg as well as himself.

The robot shook his head in bewilderment. "I don't understand..."

"Starfire and I were... separated. I got a little..." he searched for a word. "I... Well, I got _distracted_, and when I turned around, she wasn't there anymore. It was as if she just _vanished_."

Cyborg lowered his voice so the rest of the group couldn't hear. "Are you serious? You don't know where she is?"

"Don't worry!" Nightwing said, knowing that Cyborg was beginning to get anxious. "I'm sure she'll be there in a couple of minutes..." Just then, Nightwing heard a familiar beeping coming over the line.

The sound of oversized combating monkeys disappeared and was replaced by a beeping noise as Mega Monkeys 3 was interrupted by a transmission. Cyborg looked over at the screen.

'TRANSMISSION FROM... STARFIRE' The words blared in red letters against the black background.

Cyborg let out a sigh of relief. "Don't worry about it. She's trying to get in contact with us now."

Nightwing was thoroughly relieved. "Thank God. I'll talk to you when I get back, then."

"Alright. Bye," he said, then hung up the phone. He pressed a button on the console, allowing the transmission to come through.

"Starfire," he said before the image came through. "We were so worried about –" Cyborg looked up at the screen and was greeted by a face that did _not_ belong to his alien friend.

"Oh, _shit._"

It was Slade.

"_Cyborg_," the villain drawled. "Such language is not needed."

"_Slade_," Robin rasped out with malice, too stunned to say anything else.

"Yes, Robin? Cat got your tongue?" he chuckled at his own joke before stopping abruptly. "What's this?" His eyes narrowed. "Two Ravens, two Beast Boys, and two Cyborgs? Well, that was unexpected. I wonder why this information was not reported to me," he said, glaring at something off screen.

"God damn it! You weren't supposed to know about them!" Robin replied angrily.

"Aw, what's the matter? Lost the element of surprise?" He chuckled again. "You should have known it would not have mattered. I still would have been victorious."

Robin ignored him. Having been released from Raven's magic, Robin as able to get up and move closer to the screen.

"Dude," whispered teen Beast Boy, who was still clutching his GameStation controller, "how did he get Starfire's communicator?"

"Oh yes, Beast Boy. That's why I called in the first place." Slade moved off the screen.

For the occupants of Titans' Tower time seemed to move in slow motion as Slade's image slid off of the screen to reveal the helpless, unconscious form of Starfire. She was lying in some sort of wagon, hands shackled and looking absolutely disheveled. Her side was completely covered in dirt, one strap of her tank top was completely off of her shoulder, and her perfect hair was in tangles, as if someone had dragged her across the ground by it. Oddly, her perfect skin remained perfect – except for a strange blaring red rash that marred her arm – giving no sign of a struggle.

Robin's throat constricted at the sight of her. He felt his stomach plummet. His mouth was dry, and he could hardly breathe. "What?" he croaked. He could not even grasp what he was seeing. Everyone in the room was speechless.

Slade came back into the screen, laughing heartily. Starfire's image still loomed over his shoulder. "You should have seen the look on your faces!"

Robin said nothing. His face became as red as his costume.

"What's the matter, Robin? A little mad?" Slade teased.

"What have you _done_?" the Boy Wonder growled menacingly.

"Oh, don't get huffy with me. It wasn't too hard." Slade moved closer to Starfire's body. Robin clutched his hand into a fist and squeezed, making his knuckled turn white under his gloves. "I have to admit," said Slade as he caressed the Tameranean's cheek, "she is very," his hand went lower, onto her neck, "_very_" it was dangerously close to her cleavage now, "beautiful." He pulled his hand away. "She's got beauty, but she's either utterly naive or terribly stupid, I'm afraid." He looked back into the screen. "Oh, put that away Robin. What are you going to do? Throw it at the screen? Then you'd never know where to find your little girlfriend." Robin slid the birdarang that he automatically took out back into his utility belt. "Anyway, as I was saying, she's a bit of a moron. All you have to do is shove a couple of clowns in front of her face and she's as good as yours. And that little boy toy she had with her was no problem to get rid of –"

"Nightwing? Where is he?" older Raven asked.

"Nightwing? Was that his name?" Slade chortled. "All it took was a pretty girl and some bewitching and your little teammate was all mine."

"A girl? Bewitching?" Older Cyborg asked.

"An accomplice of mine. But you don't need to know any of those details."

Behind Slade, Starfire began to stir, as if trying to wake up. This did not go unnoticed by Robin.

"But why, Slade?" asked the Boy Wonder, trying to buy some time for Starfire to come to.

"I've been doing some research, Robin. I've seen you with this girl, and I know enough to know that you'd do anything for her, even risk your own life. She's your weakness."

Behind Slade, Starfire had fully awakened, although she still looked a little groggy. She looked around, as if she was puzzled by her surroundings.

Robin silently prayed that she would just zap Slade before he noticed anything.

On screen, Starfire weakly struggled with her bonds, but was unable to break free of them. She looked up, and when she spotted Slade her mouth fell open in shock. Immediately, her hands were covered by the familiar shade of green that they became before she fired her starbolts. She maneuvered her body so that her bonded hands had a good shot at Slade, but before she was fully powered up, an armored body came out of nowhere, plunging a syringe into the rash on Starfire's arm. The green fire in Starfire's hands died out as her eyes rolled heavenward and she fainted once again.

"What the fuck was that?!" gasped Robin.

Slade glanced over his shoulder, spotting Starfire's attacker. "Oh, that? That was my darling apprentice. I think you all know her well," replied Slade as she revealed her face.

"Kitten!" Robin was floored once again and sank down to the couch, holding his head in shock.

"Hello again, Robbie-poo," she purred.

"How could I have been so stupid?" Robin asked himself as he shook his head in shame.

Slade cackled. "Robin, you make my job too easy for me."

"What was that stuff that you injected into Starfire's arm?" asked teen Raven.

"Oh, this?" Kitten said innocently, tapping the now empty syringe. "It's just a drug."

"I created it myself. I like to call it Euphoria. Its effects differ from user to user, but overall, it causes those injected with it to feel only one emotion – complete elation. It's pretty much a liquid form of Ecstasy, except the effects are magnified multiple times. Does that answer your question, my dear Raven?" Raven's eyes darkened in response. Slade smiled a devilish smile that sent shivers down all of the Titans' spines. "Well, I've tied you all up too long. I'll have to let you go so you can try to find your friend." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing to Starfire's prone form. "You'd better hurry, because I don't plan on keeping her alive for long," and with that, the feed was cut.

A birdarang sliced through the air and imbedded in the screen where Slade's face had been.

The silence in the room was deafening. They stared at Robin's weapon imbedded in the cracked screen and knew exactly what Robin was thinking.

He was going to _kill_ Slade for what he had done.

Suddenly, the power in the tower went out. The lights flicked off and the gentle hum of the air conditioner vanished before the backup generator kicked in. "Sorry," mumbled Teen Raven, fighting to control her raging emotions. Sighing, she reached tentatively toward Robin's shoulder, hoping to, somehow, console her teammate. "Robin..." she stopped, not knowing what to say. What could you say to someone whose love of their life was captured?

Teen Beast Boy did not take the news of Starfire's kidnap any better. He was hyperventilating. "No way," he repeated over and over again. "No way, no way, no way..."

Teen Cyborg stared pointedly at the phone with a scowl on his face. _'It's about Starfire... You mean she's not the tower!... Starfire and I were separated... It was as if she just vanished.' _Nightwing's words still rang clearly in his ears. Cyborg cast his gaze back at the sparking, broken monitor. _'Oh Starfire,' _he thought sadly. _'I hope to God that you're all right,'_ He looked at his best friend with worried eyes, _'for his sake, at least.'_

Robin did not let on how devastated he was. He sat on the couch and was calm – unbelievingly calm. "Raven," he commanded in a tone that obviously said 'don't mess with me.' "Trace the location of Starfire's communicator. I want city, building, coordinates – the whole nine yards."

Raven frowned. The lights in the room flickered. "But Robin – "

"_Now._"

The half demon rose and went over to a smaller, secondary monitor located next to the large one but did not squelch her ideas. "Robin, this is obviously a trap," she stated as she skillfully hacked into Starfire's communicator.

"I know," replied the Boy Wonder.

"We should have a plan before we do anything drastic."

"I know."

There was a pause in her typing and she turned toward her leader. "Well?"

He looked her directly in the eyes. "I don't care," he said lowly.

The older Raven stepped into the conversation. "Your mind is clouded by your rage."

"I _know_."

Elder Raven knew what direction this was heading. "Robin," she said tersely. "Stop it. Think this through. Develop a strategy."

Robin snapped. "Did you ever _hear_ Slade? He's going to _kill_ her. We have to find him before he does something –"

"Do you think you're the only one worried about her?" Elder Raven blasted back. "We all care about her deeply. We only want what's best." She paused, letting the statement sink in. "Besides," she added, "what good would any of us be if we got killed before we even had a chance to infiltrate wherever Slade is keeping her."

Robin stared at her. It _would _make sense to take the time out to develop some sort of plan of action but if there was one thing they did not have, it was time. Casting his eyes away from Older Raven, Robin turned his attention toward her younger counterpart. "What have you got, Raven?"

"I've traced Star's communicator to an abandoned warehouse."

"Where?"

"That's what puzzles me." She typed on the keyboard again. "From what this is telling me, it's in Bludhaven."

Robin shook his head tiredly. "That's impossible. Bludhaven is too far away. It'd take him hours to get there, even by plane."

"It depends on how long she's been missing," Older Beast Boy added.

Robin cringed. The thought of Starfire being with Slade for such a long time without him knowing about it killed him on the inside.

"It was recent," Teen Cyborg said, out of the blue. Everyone turned their attention toward him.

Older Cyborg raised a brow. "How do you know that?"

"That's why Nightwing called," Teen Cyborg replied somberly.

Robin's eyes narrowed at his name. _'This is all _his_ fault.'_

Older Raven's hand flew to her mouth as she gasped. "Oh no! Nightwing doesn't even know! You remember how he was after she went missing the first time..." she said to her teammates, remembering the state of depression and seclusion he went into when Starfire had been sucked into that time warp many years ago.

Robin's eyes narrowed even more, his face turning red. _'...his fault...'_

Elder Cyborg nodded sadly. "I remember... all too vividly."

"What did he say to you on the phone, Cy?" Came teen Beast Boy's withered voice. He'd calmed down a little, the initial shock wearing off.

The half robot turned his head toward his friend. "He just asked if she was here." He hesitated before saying the second part. "He also said that he had been distracted and when he turned around, she wasn't there anymore. I guess that's where Slade's accomplice comes in." He directed his attention to the younger Raven. "Here, let me take a look at that." He joined her at the secondary monitor. He typed quickly into it, skimming over the words and symbols on the screen. "Slade screwed up the wires to give us a false location," he said finally. "They're not in Bludhaven." He was typing again. "I'm not sure where they are... _yet._ I can give you their last location before he sabotaged the communicator. He turned his gaze to Robin, waiting for an order to proceed before just doing it himself. His leader was in no shape to be in charge right now. As second in command, Cyborg decided he would take over the mission until Robin was in the right state of mind.

Robin slouched back into the couch and rubbed his temples, trying to relieve his monstrous headache. "How long?"

"Ten minutes tops. It'll take me a while to hack through all the security protections. You'd think this would be easy considering I was the one that installed all this shit in the first place," he complained, diligently working to reach his goal.

"Who would've thought that the one night that Starfire was supposed to have fun and enjoy herself, something this terrible could happen?" Elder Beast Boy asked rhetorically.

Robin felt like his head was going to explode. He stood up from his seat on the couch. Then, for the first time that night, he realized something.

The entire time, he'd been sitting in the exact spot that he had seen Nightwing and Starfire hugging just the night before.

Robin felt sick to his stomach.

"I- I'll be back," he said, making a beeline for the elevator.

"What? Where are you going?" questioned older Beast Boy.

"Just taking care of some unfinished business," replied Robin as the elevator doors closed.

Future Beast Boy was confused, but decided not to brood on it too much. Robin always was a mystery to him.

*******

After the call with Cyborg, Nightwing had this strange underlying feeling of dread.

He knew something was wrong even before he saw Robin waiting for him in the garage with a murderous look on his face.

The doors to the garage slid up agonizingly slowly, revealing first Robin's titanium lined boots, then his green tights, followed by his red body suit. The yellow 'R' symbol seemed to blaze at Nightwing, but he knew it was his over active imagination. Finally, the doors were all the way up, revealing Robin's furious expression.

Robin watched as the T-Car silently glided into the garage. It stopped and the driver's door eased itself open. Nightwing stepped out confidently; the look on his face making Robin clench his fist.

They glared at each other.

"Robin," Nightwing greeted. He received no response. He continued, brushing it off. "Is Starfire here?"

That did it for Robin. As quickly as lightening, Robin's fist made its way to Nightwing's face. The forceful punch landed square on Nightwing's nose, causing blood to gush out. Robin sent another wild swing, but missed terribly as Nightwing easily dodged it.

Nightwing held his nose. "What the fuck, man?!" he yelled at the Boy Wonder. Before he knew it he was laying flat on his back, Robin on top of him and gripping his neck in a death hold.

"Don't you _ever_ say her name around me _ever_ again." He punctuated the sentence by tightening his grip and slamming the vigilante's head on the hard floor. "You've lost the right to."

Despite the fact that his windpipe was being crushed and he had absolutely no idea what Robin was talking about, Nightwing wheezed, "And you haven't?"

Robin slammed his head again. "Shut up!"

Nightwing pressed on. "You think that Starfire would ever talk to you again after she finds out that you tried to kill me?"

Robin was screaming, now. "Didn't I just tell you to shut up?! _Shut up!_" He slammed again.

Nightwing's vision was getting cloudy, he was beginning to get lightheaded, and breathing became near impossible. In desperation, Nightwing spat a bloody wad of spit in his younger counterpart's face.

Robin loosened his grip in shock, enabling Nightwing to gulp down several lung fulls of air. "Get the fuck _off_ ofme you crazy ass!" he yelled, rolling out from under the teen. He massaged his sore neck.

Robin approached him again. "How could you just _leave _her like that? You saw a piece of fine ass and decided that it was okay to abandon Starfire? Now look what's happened!" Robin threw a punch aimed at Nightwing's gut, but the well trained hero back flipped out of the way and managed to land a kick on the teenager's chin in the process.

"You need to chill out before you get your ass kicked, little boy," Nightwing spat vehemently. "Now, tell me, what are you talking about?"

His response was an array of punches and kicks, a fraction of which were actually landed. Robin wrapped his hand around Nightwing's shell necklace and yanked. A variety of white shells flew onto the floor.

And through all of it, Nightwing did not return an assault.

"Fight me!" urged Robin. "Why won't you fight me?"

"Because," said Nightwing in a mid flip. "I won't sink to your level."

Robin fought with more vigor in response.

*******

For the first time, Robin's teammates realized that their leader was not present in the Main Room.

"Hey," teen Beast Boy said. "Where'd Robin go to?"

"Oh," responded his counterpart. "He said he had some business to take care off... Whatever that means..."

Almost simultaneously, everyone in the room directed their gazes at the numbers above the elevator door. The letter 'G' was lit up.

'_G... G... G... What did that stand for again? Oh yeah, Ground Level,' _thought Beast Boy. _'But what would Robin need to do on the Ground Level? All that's down there is the entrance and..._'

Everyone's eyes widened. "The garage!" They shouted in unison.

Robin wasn't feeling one bit tired. He realized that he wasn't being fueled by his energy, but by his blazing fury.

His endless blazing fury.

He knew that Nightwing wasn't completely at fault, but when he thought about how careless and selfish he had been...

A well placed punch caught Nightwing's chin.

Nightwing moved his jaw around. "Ow. That one hurt."

"Good," Robin huffed. He pulled his arm back for another hit, but was unable to land it, seeing as he was now encased in a ball of magic and hovering several feet off of the floor. "_Raven,_" he hissed. "_Put me down._"

Teen Raven shook her head. Behind her stood teenaged Beast Boy, shocked at what Robin had done. "I'm sorry, Robin, but you've gone too far."

Near Robin's bubble prison was Nightwing, who was now being pampered and cared for by the older Raven. Her hands were placed on his head and were radiating a black aura, healing him.

Robin was stunned. _'Did I give him a concussion?' _Robin shook off the feeling of guilt. "He deserved it," he mumbled irefully.

"For what – leaving her? You know he had no control over that. He was under a spell," said Raven.

"Excuse me," interrupted Nightwing, "but would someone mind telling me what the hell is going on? I come home expecting a sweet smile from my girl –" Robin snorted. Nightwing ignored it. "– but instead I get out of the car and get my ass kicked. And now I'm hearing that I've been under a spell?" Everyone stared at him wide eyed. How where they supposed to tell him? "_And,_" he added. "Where is Starfire?"

"Nightwing," the older Raven said gently. "Maybe you should come with me..." She led him and the rest of her team toward the elevator. One more dirty look was exchanged between Nightwing and Robin before the doors closed.

"Is it safe for me to put you down now or are you just going to run up the stairs and attack Nightwing again?" Raven asked.

"No," murmured Robin. "I'm fine."

Raven's bubble disappeared and Robin landed gracefully on his feet.

"What was _that_ all about, man?" asked Beast Boy.

"After everything that happened tonight... All the stress... I don't know. I just kind of cracked, and it didn't help that I've wanted to do that since the first day he got here." Robin soughed deeply. "And the worst thing is that I don't regret what I did. I would do it again."

"I know," replied Raven. "And that's the scariest part of it."

*******

As the doors slid open, teenage Raven, Beast Boy, and Robin we're greeted by the sound of Slade's transmission being replayed over the speakers as Nightwing watched it on the small monitor. Robin headed directly for the sliding doors that lead to the bedrooms. The last thing he wanted to hear was that transmission again.

Before he could reach the doors, he was cut off by teen Cyborg, who had remained in the Main Room during his confrontation with Nightwing to work on hacking through Slade's securities in Starfire's communicator.

"I know what you did in the garage. I just want you to know that I don't care about it. It doesn't make me think anything less of you. You're just human," Cyborg said to his friend.

"Thanks Cyborg, but –" Robin could hardly concentrate. The message was still playing in the background.

"Come on," said Cyborg, leading his friend out of the room. "I need to talk to you," he said. They stopped just on the other side of the sliding doors leading to the rooms. "I know where they are," Cyborg said when the doors closed behind them.

This caught Robin's attention. "Where?!"

"You won't believe this, but..." Cyborg produced a sheet of paper seemingly from nowhere. "Their last known coordinates were 40°N, 120°W."

Robin's mouth fell open. They had been so close... "But that's right on shore, isn't it?"

Cyborg nodded grimly.

The door slid open with a _'whoosh'_ revealing a very, _very _angry Nightwing. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" He asked to no one in particular, before removing his mask from his pocket and sliding it onto his face. "Let's go do some damage."

_**... End Chapter 8...**_


	9. Rescue Mission

**BACK TO THE PRESENT**_**  
**_**Chapter 9: Rescue Mission**

**By: Jacque Nicole**

*******

**1:37 AM**

Bright eyes widened, trying to get used to the dim lighting in the cavernous room. The cave was large and housed several hundred bats, their high pitched squeaks echoing off its rocky walls. The air was dank and pungent with the odor of the bat waste that littered the cave floor. Despite the incessant cries from the bats, there was the distinct sound of water dripping from the ceiling and creating shallow puddles.

"So you've finally decided wake."

Starfire tiredly raised her head from its slumped position. Immediately, she found her arms tethered high on the cave wall, causing her legs to dangle beneath her. She experimentally tugged on the chains that chained her arms to the rock wall but to no avail. She was too weak to do anything.

"Wakey, wakey, little bitch," came that same sinister voice.

Starfire could recognize it anywhere. She tried to say the name, but her dry, raw throat did not allow her to make a sound.

The thin shadowed figure stepped closer to its prisoner.

"I've been waiting _days_ to do this," it said. In the darkness, Starfire could barely make out a slender arm rising from its owner's side.

An unmistakable sting ached Starfire's cheek. She let out a wince in pain and knew that her skin was changing color where she'd been slapped.

"I hate you," said Starfire's assailant.

The Tamaranean girl tried to speak again. "Kitten," she croaked. "Why?"

"Why?! _Why?!_" The blonde teen snorted. "You took my Robbie-poo away from me!

Starfire tugged at her bonds again. "Was... never... yours..." she gasped.

"No!" exclaimed the teen. "Ever since I first saw him on the television, I knew that I wanted him... and I always get what I want." Starfire was shocked. "What? Did you think the only reason I was with him was because Slade commanded it?" Starfire gave her a look. Kitten's face got red in anger. "Well, you're wrong. If you weren't involved we could've been together," she blabbered mindlessly. "And," she added as an afterthought, "I would've been more popular!" (1)

Starfire wearily at looked the love sick teen. "You are crazy..."

Fire burned in the blonde's eyes. "Who the hell asked you?!" She moved closer to Starfire, arms folded indignantly. "But that's okay, you filthy alien. You'll pay for what you've taken away from me." And with that, Kitten plunged a syringe filled with a clear liquid into the Tamaranean arm. Starfire moaned in reluctance as the toxin drained into her body.

"What was that?" she breathed.

"It doesn't matter," Kitten replied, flinging the empty syringe over her shoulder. "Let's just say it'll make you feel _really_ good." She gave the Tamaranean prisoner a devilish smirk.

Starfire stared back into the eyes of the vengeful teen thoroughly confused. Colors began to smear and the outline of her face became fuzzy. Starfire felt as if she were on a rainbow, colors dancing before her eyes. She felt happy.

Elated.

_Euphoric._

Kitten roughly grabbed Starfire's chin, forcing her to look at her. "You _will_ pay, bitch," she threatened before spinning on her heel and heading into the darkness.

Starfire gazed after her, even after she was out of sight.

"Bye, bye!" She giggled dazedly.

***

**1:37 AM**

It was lonely without her, he realized for the first time.

Without her, nothing was worth it.

Without her, he felt like life wasn't worth living.

And that's why he and seven others trudged across the muddy bridged that joined the island Titans' Tower was built on with the mainland, flashlights in tow.

"Robin," teen Cyborg said grimly, coming to a halt along the shore. "This is the place."

The Boy Wonder nodded. "Search," he commanded tersely.

The eight heroes dispersed to search the location for any clues. Robin walked off, separating himself from the group. Having been the ward of a detective, Robin was specially trained in searching for evidence, and he put all his skills to use. He carefully examined the sand, trying to spot any proof that Slade had been there. Upon seeing no clues whatsoever, Robin realized, dejectedly, that Slade was intelligent enough to leave nothing behind for Robin to find, unless, of course, it was meant to be found.

Looking to his teammates and their allies, Robin saw crestfallen, yet determined faces._ 'We _will _find Starfire,' _he assured himself. _'We have to.'_

At that moment, Nightwing looked up and straight at Robin. Their gazes met in an intense glare, the tension from their previous fight still present. Angrily, he tore his eyes away from Nightwing's. He took deep breaths to calm himself. _'His fault...'_

"Hey, I found something!" Teen Cyborg's voice rang out into the pitch blackness.

Robin was at his side in seconds. "What? What is it?" He asked urgently. He flashed his flashlight at what his friend had cupped in his large robotic hands. He promptly dropped his light when he saw what it was.

"Well?" Nightwing he prompted tersely, the other Titans clamoring behind him to get a view. "What was it?" He flashed his own flashlight at the item.

Nightwing let out a barely audible gasp.

It was Starfire's communicator.

***

**1:51 AM**

Starfire was too far gone on the Euphoria to think straight. She knew she was in trouble and that if she didn't escape _soon_ there would be dire consequences, but the drug had scrambled her brain so badly that she could not even concentrate to use her powers.

She heard footsteps walking in the shadows, but immediately knew they did not belong to Kitten. Kitten's footfalls were light and dainty, but these steps were heavy and hard, with an almost cocky sounding stride. As the figure stepped into the light Starfire wanted to gasp, but the drugs had clouded her mind so thoroughly that she giggled instead.

"My dear Starfire," Slade teased as he got closer to the Tamaranean. "I see you haven't passed out from this dosage. It looks like your body has accepted Euphoria," he informed, gliding his fingers up and down Starfire's exposed arm. (2)

She felt sick to her stomach at the contact. She moaned in protest. "Stop..."

The villain chortled. "As you wish," he said mockingly, removing his hand from her shoulder. "Tonight will be a momentous night, my dear," he continued, as if nothing had just transpired. "Your friends are probably looking for you as we speak." Slade's words slurred together in Starfire's head, not one sentence making any sense at all. Slade's image blurred as if he were made of paint and someone had smeared him all together. Starfire tried to reach out, her mind urging her to touch the colors, but she was unable to, due to the fact that she was still tied up to the wall.

"Robin will come running for you. He's willing to risk life and limb for you," continued the cunning villain. "And that's just what he'll be doing tonight." Suddenly, the entire room began to shake. The sleeping bats on the ceiling fell into an uproar, frantically flying around the cave in utter confusion. Slade smirked in appreciation. "It looks like your friends have found your communicator," he said before leaving the room. "Wish them luck, dear. They'll certainly need it."

***

**1:52 AM**

As the sudden realization befell the group, the ground began to shake. The land on which the Titans stood cracked and began to ooze an eerie brown substance. The goo began to bubble and stretch, forming some sort of figure. An ear shattering screech emitted from what seemed to be the creature's mouth.

Plasmus stood tall, swinging its arms at everything in sight.

Robin's eyes widened. "Titans, GO!"

The two teams immediately sprang into action.

Robin charged forward, bo-staff in his hands. "I should've known that Slade had something up his sleeve," he said, plunging it into the monster's gut.

Plasmus gave an unearthly screech, grabbed Robin, and threw him several feet away.

"Hey, no one does that to my friend and gets away with it!" yelled teen Beast Boy. He abruptly changed into a green sparrow and flew above Plasmus. Once in position, he transformed into an elephant and fell on top of the monster, effectively reducing him to a puddle of goop.

"Good job, dude," congratulated the older Beast Boy, giving his younger counterpart a high five.

Teenage Raven's eyes narrowed. "Don't celebrate yet," she advised.

The liquid regrouped and piled up, creating a large blob, until Plasmus was, once again, in his natural state.

"For once, when we knock a villain down, can they just _stay_ down?" Beast Boy asked rhetorically.

Plasmus let out another screech before throwing a ball of goo at his attacker. Having been taken by surprise, teen Beast Boy was hit dead on and became buried in the sticky liquid.

During this attack, Nightwing managed to take the villain by surprise by implanting dozens of mini bombs in his back. The bombs exploded, bringing the villain down to his knees.

Plasmus fell face down and did not get back up this time. His blob like body dissolved leaving only an unconscious man in its wake.

Teen Cyborg stared at the scene incredulously. "Well, that was easy."

"Too easy," Robin added, brushing remnants of the Plasmus' sticky liquid off his costume. _'Why in the world would Slade _want_ us to defeat Plasmus?' _wondered the Boy Wonder to himself.

Robin's attention was jarred by a shout from the older Cyborg. "Yo, guys, look what I found! It looks like a tunnel!"

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Nightwing questioned at he disappeared into the dark passage. Both Cyborgs followed wordlessly.

Robin was itching to join them, but he had to take care of the Plasmus problem first. "Someone needs to stay here and make sure that he," he tilted his head toward the man on the ground, "stays unconscious."

The pair of Ravens and Beast Boys looked at each other expectantly. It was obvious that neither wanted to be left behind.

Reluctantly, teen Beast Boy spoke up first. "Fine, we'll stay here," he said, referring to himself and his counterpart.

Robin gave a curt nod. "Good. All you have to do is make sure that guy doesn't wake up. That way you'll have no problem with Plasmus. My communicator will always be on. Just call if there's a problem."

Beast Boy noticed Robin's cold demeanor, but did not comment on it. "Alright," he said. "But, just promise me one thing." Robin raised a brow questionably. "Could you– Make sure you–" The changeling struggled for words. "Just bring her back, ok?"

Robin nodded. "I will, Beast Boy. I _swear_ it."

***

**2:14 AM**

The rumbling had ceased a while ago but, despite the calm atmosphere, not a word was uttered between Starfire and Slade. If Slade knew what the outcome of the battle that was going on above ground was, he gave no indication of it. He just stared at the ceiling, a look in his eyes that was so eerie it left Starfire wondering what he was thinking.

After what seemed like ages, he finally turned to her. "Your friends will be here soon," he said.

'_How do you know?'_ Starfire wanted to reply, but the drug she had been forced to take caused her tongue to lay limp in her mouth, like a log.

Slade gave the alien teen one more look before leaving, dragging his eyes deliberately slow up and down her frame.

As Slade disappeared into the shadows, Kitten appeared, cracking her knuckles and staring at Starfire with a malicious gleam in her eyes.

***

**2:15 AM**

The tunnel was a long, winding trail, the smell of it reeking of salt water. The floor was extremely muddy, drowning each of the Titans' feet ankle deep with each step. All that the group could see was a seemingly never ending blackness ahead of them that was barely illuminated by their weak flashlights.

Nightwing headed the group, traveling at a quick speed, eager to find his friend. He looked as if he didn't even notice the fact that his feet sank into the unstable ground with every step or that the air was barely breathable. He was completely focused on the task at hand.

Robin was in the far back, his mannerisms mirroring Nightwing's. His expression was vacant; his only thoughts were of a certain Tamaranean beauty. _'I hope she's alright…'_ he thought to himself as he trudged along the long path.

"Don't worry yourself about her too much, Robin," teen Raven said, trying to console her friend.

"Yeah," agreed the older Raven. "Starfire's a big girl. She can take care of herself."

"That's what I told myself after I gave up looking for her at the circus," Nightwing added from up front. "Now look where we are."

The statement was heavy on everyone's hearts.

"Look man, it doesn't hurt to be a little optimistic in a situation like this," Teen Cyborg snapped. "Besides, if you would have been paying more attention to your surroundings when you were with her, maybe we wouldn't be here in the first place!"

"How would he have stopped Slade?" The older Raven argued back. "I do not think this was unavoidable."

"Of course it was. If he just –"

"Hey do you guys hear that?" The older Cyborg said, interrupting his counterpart.

Nightwing gritted his teeth, frustrated. "What are you –?"

"Shh!" Robin said, holding up a hand to signal for silence. He strained his ears, trying to catch what Cyborg had heard.

The noises steadily became louder "Wait," teen Cyborg said. "Are those... wings?"

"Yes," confirmed Nightwing. "I'd know that sound anywhere. Those are –"

"Bats!" yelled Robin. "Duck!"

The heroes hit the deck, just missing being pummeled by a massive group of about a thousand alarmed bats.

"Holy shit," breathed Cyborg in astonishment as he watched the swarm fly over head.

"Tell me about it," teen Raven said.

***

**2:15 AM**

"Starfire, how do you feel?"

"Very pleasant."

Kitten chuckled. "So, you enjoy Euphoria?"

"Yes... Euphoria is nice."

Kitten gave her signature smirk. "Good, then you won't feel this," she replied, delivering a swift punch to Starfire's stomach.

Starfire _did_ feel it and her body recoiled in response. Her mind, however, did not seem to notice the attack.

Blankly, she stared at the blond standing before her.

_Euphoria is very nice._

_***_

**2:17 AM**

"What the hell was that about?"

The mass of bats had finally vanished, leaving only bewildered Titans in its wake.

Covered in mud, Nightwing stood and began to walk deeper into the darkness of the tunnel. "Something must've disturbed them, Cyborg," he replied over his shoulder. "There's no telling what Slade's doing down here."

Suddenly, Robin's communicator came to life. Robin pulled it out and turned it on.

"Hey Robin!" Teen Beast Boy's face filled the screen. "You guys alright? A whole shitload of bats just flew out of that tunnel you guys went in."

"Yeah, we know Beast Boy. We're fine," he replied. By now the group had already began to travel again. "How are you guys holding up back there?" He asked as he stumbled to catch up with his comrades.

Teen Beast Boy shrugged. "That guy's definitely out like a light. He hasn't moved since you left. Old man's sitting on him just in case, though." Robin heard older Beast Boy protest to his younger counterpart's nickname, but teen Beast Boy did not acknowledge it. "So," he continued, "have you found anything yet?"

Robin frowned. "Unfortunately, no." Gradually, Robin noticed off-handedly, the pathway had become much less narrow, the air more humid, and the mud even deeper.

"Damn," continued Beast Boy on the communicator. "I was hoping that by now –"

"So was I," Robin cut in. Suddenly, the Boy Wonder halted in mid-step. Something was _very _different.

Older Raven, who was much farther up ahead turned around and looked at him, puzzled. "What's the matter?" She called back.

Robin looked around him, trying to spot something out of place. "I don't know," he replied. "It just felt like –" he broke off, immediately turning to the wall at his far right, a birdarang in one hand and his communicator (which still had Beast Boy on the screen) in the other.

Suddenly, the wall burst apart, large rocks crumbling to the ground, narrowly missing Robin's body. A bright blue light emitting from the creature that stepped through the opening illuminated the area. It let out a battle cry.

"Dude!" yelled Beast Boy frantically. "What was that?!"

With his eyes locked on the massive electronic monster before him, Robin brought his communicator close to his mouth. "Uhh, Beast Boy," he muttered into the small yellow device. "I gotta go."

***

**2:29 AM**

For the first time, neither Kitten nor Slade were in the room. _'That is foolish of them,'_ Starfire thought. _'How do they know that I will not escape?'_

Starfire weakly bent her legs, which had never been tied, and placed them against the wall for leverage. Once they were securely on the rocky surface behind her, she tried pushing away from the wall in hopes that the tension created in her hand bonds would break them.

Nothing happened. It was no use; she was too weak.

Unexpectedly, applause from someone broke out into the emptiness of the cave.

"That was very amusing, little one. Did you think you could escape?"

Starfire smiled ironically. She should've known Slade wouldn't have left her by herself.

"No, dear. We can't have you getting away. It's Robin's job to come and save you." Slade smirked devilishly. He approached her with a syringe in his hand. Noticing the various cuts and bruises marring her perfect skin, the villain frowned. "I see Kitten has been having a bit of fun with you," he said conversationally as the needle sank into her arm.

Starfire began to breathe erratically as she felt the drug begin to coarse through her veins. "She has," drawled the red head.

"There," said Slade as the last of the liquid disappeared. "Now you won't have any thoughts of escaping, right?"

"Right," replied Starfire dazedly.

"Good girl."

***

**2:30 AM**

"Cyborg, watch out!" Nightwing warned his teammate. Older Cyborg ducked just in time to narrowly miss being hit by a boulder that Overload threw directly at him. The angry robot returned the favor, picking up the gargantuan boulder and chucking it at the powerhouse. At the last second, Overload managed to avoid it.

The younger Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "You missed," he pointed out. He shot a sonic blast at the powerful enemy. It was off.

"I don't see you landing too many either, kid," yelled the older Cyborg from across the battleground.

Just then, a black birdarang whizzed by, accurately hitting its target. "Fuck!" swore Nightwing when his attack had no effect. He ran toward the villain to attempt hand-to-hand combat.

Robin had long ago managed to climb onto Overload's back, searching for any type of weakness while also planting mini bombs underneath random circuits. Having been distracted by his five other opponents, Overload did not notice the Boy Wonder's presence.

Down below, the Raven's had run out of ideas. They had already tried using their powers to pummel the monster with the biggest boulders they found but nothing seemed to work. Suddenly, Overload's power had a very small and subtle fluctuation. Puzzled, the two half demons carefully scanned the area, looking for anything that may have caused the change. Simultaneously, they erected a shield to protect themselves from a huge ball of mud that Overload decided to pelt at them.

At the monster's feet, Nightwing attacked with a barrage of punches and kicks, to the annoyance of Overload. The vigilante realized that none of his attacks were working, but he kept going anyway, despite the fact.

Suddenly, there was a series of explosions on the powerhouse's back. Robin, now perched on Overload's shoulders to avoid his own bombs, watched with rapt anticipation as his mini bombs exploded, one after the other.

Overload screeched at the pain and, in a blind rage, delivered a swift, strong kick to Nightwing, causing him to fly several feet away and collide with the cave's rocky walls. He reached over his shoulder, grabbed Robin, and slammed him to the ground like a human football. Neither Nightwing nor Robin got back up again.

Abruptly, Overload found himself suspended in mid-air. The older Raven lifted him off the ground to incapacitate him while her younger counterpart hit him with what they thought was his weakness—water.

After the strange power surge, it did not take the Ravens long to realize that its cause had been a drop of water that fell from the ceiling. Immediately, they formulated a plan. The older Raven was supposed to lift the monster out of the reach of their teammates while the young Raven used her powers to put a hole in the ceiling.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" exclaimed teen Raven as she plowed a hole through the top of the cave. Instantly, water from the bay that lay above the cave spilled through. The teenage half demon used her powers to redirect the water at the electronic villain. Having been doused by an unexpected attack, Overload short circuited and the disc that gave him power fell into the mud with a _squish._ Afterward, the two Ravens managed to plug up the hole before it expanded.

There was a silence between the team as they looked around the destructive scene.

Teen Cyborg spoke first. "Well, what do we do now?" He question, staring at his fallen teammates.

Suddenly, Nightwing's body began to stir. Using the rocky wall as leverage, he managed to stand up, keeping one hand on the wall for balance. "The only thing we can do," he replied through gritted teeth. The pain in his leg was so searing he thought he might pass out from the intensity of it. He knew he must have shattered some bones. The vigilante took one step, but as soon as his hand left the wall he collapsed to the ground with a cry of pain. The Cyborgs and the older Raven ran to the aid of their friend. No one noticed as the younger Raven found an unconscious Robin hidden in one of the many shadows the cave created. His head was bleeding profusely from where he had landed on a particularly jagged stone.

Teen Raven's eyes widened as she saw him lying in a small pool of his own blood. "Robin? Robin? Can you hear me? Are you alright?" she asked hopefully, even though she knew that there was no chance that he'd answer. With a string of curses, Raven went into action. Although she had never tried repairing a cracked skull, she was confident that she could pull it off. The only problem was that she'd have to use nearly all of her energy to do so.

Across the cave, older Raven was troubled by the same predicament. She had healed bones before, but at the time it had been a broken radius. Even then she hadn't repaired it completely because she knew that it would take a lot out of her, and, at the time, the biggest threat against them was a not-so-threatening Johnny Rancid. This was completely different. By the abnormal shape of Nightwing's leg, Raven assumed that when he hit the wall nearly every bone in his leg was shattered. She gently placed her hands on Nightwing's injury and used all her remaining strength the heal him. _'If there's anyone here that should go on to fight Slade, it's Nightwing,'_ she rationalized in her head.

Even as she began feeling weaker and weaker, teen Raven pressed on. She could sense the cut in the back of Robin's head closing up and his consciousness being restored as she felt her own escaping her. With one final surge of magic, Raven completed the job.

Robin groggily opened his eyes. Immediately, his gloved hand flew to his head. "Oh shit! I feel like I was just hit with a Mack truck," he muttered. He slowly sat up with one hand still clutching his aching head. His eyes landed on his friend. "Raven?" he questioned, puzzled.

Raven was exhausted and tiredly gasped for breaths. She felt like she had just run a marathon. "Good," she said to Robin. "You don't have amnesia. How are you feeling?"

Robin shrugged his shoulders. "Like a rag doll that just came out of a washing machine. What happened?"

"You got your ass kicked by Overload. You cracked your skull, but I patched you up. You may still have a concussion, though."

Robin sighed. "I guess what goes around comes around, right?"

"Yeah," replied Raven. "Karma's a bitch." Raven stood up on shaky legs and helped her teammate do the same. "Come on. Your little friend got banged up pretty badly, too."

Perspiration lined older Raven's brow as she concentrated on putting each bone back together. She drowned out all sounds from the outside world so she could focus only on Nightwing. Suddenly, she felt someone else's magic entwine with her own and help her finish up the job. _'Raven...'_

As both Ravens worked on his leg, Nightwing felt the pain ebb and finally fade into a faint tingling sensation. Once they were finished, he experimentally bent it. He felt no pain at all.

He smiled gratefully at his friends. "Thank you."

"No prob," replied older Raven, panting heavily.

Nightwing did not look too convinced. "You can't continue, can you?"

"Nope," she replied.

"Neither can I," the younger Raven quietly added.

A strange look crossed Robin's face before he spoke. "That's fine. The both of you can stay behind. When you regain your strength, bring the robot's disc up to the surface with you."

Older Raven nodded. Nightwing stood up again, this time with no problems.

"Be careful, Nightwing. I did my best my best to heal you, but sometimes my best isn't enough," the future Raven warned.

"Yeah," agreed the younger half demon. "The same goes to you too, Robin."

The Boy Wonder nodded in understanding. "Alright." He gave one last lingering glance at the area and his friends. "I guess we'll see you all really soon."

"Just be careful, okay?"

Robin nodded to the two Ravens before joining the group to leave.

"Hey, don't worry about us, Rave," shouted young Cyborg.

"We've got it all under control," added his counterpart.

The two Ravens looked at each other dubiously. "That's what we're afraid of."

***

**2:36 AM**

When Slade unexpectedly threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh, Starfire flinched in surprise.

"What is so amusing?" she asked in a meek voice.

Slade abruptly stopped his fit and looked at Starfire, eyes glittering with mischief. "You would never understand."

Her eyes narrowed. "Try me."

Slade chuckled lightly in response. "One as innocent as yourself will never comprehend the inner mechanics of someone like me," he replied, taunting her.

Just then, Starfire did something neither of them expected that she'd do.

She tilted a head back, brought up a thick wad of spit, and spat it right in Slade's face.

In a flash, Starfire found her head pressed heavily against the cave's rocky walls, her captor's hand clutched tightly around her slim neck.

"If you value your life _at all_, you will refrain from doing that," he growled angrily, saliva sliding down his masked cheek.

Even though her windpipe was crushed, Starfire gasped out, "You have no intention of killing me. You need to use me as bait. Am I not correct?"

Slade narrowed his eyes. "Make no mistake, child. Robin is on his way here. I have no more need for you. You are lucky that I chose not to dispose of you now, because I know that these mood swings you are having are side effects of the drug." With one last angry gaze, he left Starfire alone to her thoughts.

***

**2:47 AM**

They had been walking for about ten minutes after they'd left the Ravens behind. Somehow, the group had slightly separated – the two Cyborgs in the far front with Nightwing and Robin lagging behind. Not a soul spoke. The deafening silence was only filled by the distinct sound of the shrieking bats and droplets of water hitting puddles.

"You're hurt." It was a single phrase uttered by Robin to his enemy, but it held so much hidden meaning behind it. Did Robin actually care about Nightwing's welfare after all?

The older vigilante gave his younger self a puzzling look in response.

"Your pace has changed," the Boy Wonder continued. "And you're walking with a slight limp."

It was true. Nightwing's newly repaired leg bones were still tender and after a long amount of walking it became painful. Nightwing gave Robin a sideways glance. "Wow. I didn't know you cared."

"I don't," he responded shortly, ending the conversation.

Another five minutes went by.

"You're hurt too, kid." This time it was Nightwing who addressed Robin. "You haven't been walking in a straight line for the past couple of minutes, and you look a bit unsteady on your feet." Nightwing frowned when Robin did not even bother to acknowledge him. "Quick, Robin," he said, shoving two fingers in Robin's face. "How many fingers am I holding up?" Once again, Robin did not say anything. Nightwing tried again, thinking that maybe Robin had not heard him. "Robin, how many fingers am I holding up?" This time, Robin's brow furrowed, as if he were struggling with something. "Robin –"

"I would tell you how many fingers you're holding up if you stop moving your fucking hand around!" shouted the Boy Wonder, frustrated that his eyes couldn't focus on the digits clearly.

Nightwing frowned again. "I wasn't moving my hand around at all." Nightwing shook his head sadly. "Maybe we should take a rest," he suggested.

"No," Robin replied flatly. "We can't afford any breaks."

Nightwing grabbed Robin's shoulder, bringing him to a halt. "I want to get to Starfire just as much as you do, but we won't be any help to her like this."

Robin shrugged off Nightwing's shoulder in response. "I said no."

Suddenly, up ahead, there was a loud commotion, the sound of rocks breaking and crashing vibrating against the off the walls.

Wordlessly, the two vigilantes sprinted toward the action, ignoring their ailments. They arrived just in time to catch the older Cyborg delivering an earth shattering punch to Cinderblock's abdomen.

The pair looked at each other dubiously.

"Here we go again."

***

**3:18 AM**

"So, how do you think they're doing down there?"

It did not take the Raven's long to regain their strength and bring Overload to the surface. When they met up with the Beast Boys they gave them a quick briefing about what had happened in the cave, and ever since then, the two changelings were riddled with questions.

"I'm not sure," said future Rave, responding to elder Beast Boy's inquiry. "I just hope they're all right."

"Are you kidding? That's Nightwing and Robin down there. They'll be fine. Pretty soon, everything will be back to normal," said teen Beast Boy. "Star will be back, Slade will be out of sight and out of mind and, best of all, we'll all have a goodbye lunch at Pizza Shack before you all leave."

Older Raven smiled at Beast Boy's optimistic – almost foolish – hopes. "Well, I can't wait for that," she replied, humoring him.

Disdainfully, the Ravens looked at each other with the same thing on their mind.

'_Somehow, I don't think that this will turn out to be such a happy ending.'_

_***_

**3:18 AM**

"SONIC BOOM!"

Robin and teenage Cyborg's powerful double attack did the trick and sent Cinderblock tumbling to the ground, defeated, after over thirty minutes of relentless battle. The was a silent understanding between the Cyborgs, Nightwing, and Robin that the two robots would have to be left responsible for taking the rock monster back to the surface. With wishes of good luck, the two groups separated, leaving Nightwing and Robin to travel alone.

"You do realize that we're playing right into Slade's hands, right?" asked Robin as he watched his companions walk away in the opposite direction. "This is exactly what he wants. Divide and conquer."

Nightwing gave his younger self a sideways glance. "Do I realize it? Yes. Do I care?" He shrugged. "Not really." He began to continue further down the path.

"Well, maybe you should," said Robin as he began to follow him. "What if Slade sends someone else to us?"

"We'll beat them," Nightwing replied nonchalantly.

"What if one of us gets hurt even worse than we are now?"

Nightwing shrugged. "We'll get better."

"Well, what if Star isn't down here at all?!"

Nightwing never even faltered. "We _will _find her," he answered confidently.

Robin gritted his teeth. "What makes you so sure?"

The older vigilante sighed. "Come on," he said, exasperated. "We're Nightwing and Robin. Everything will be _fine_."

Robin did not look one bit convinced. "Then for Star's sake, I hope you're right," he replied.

***

**3:43 AM**

"Cy!"

After what seemed like ages, the Beast Boys and Ravens finally saw the teammates they had left behind.

The two Cyborgs emerged from the tunnel looking utterly disheveled. Both of their once shiny metal bodies were covered in a thick layer of mud. The older robot seemed to be leaking some sort of liquid while the other had some wires exposed. As soon as they were fully emerged from the tunnel, they dropped what they were holding onto the ground and plopped down tiredly, themselves.

"Dudes," teen Beast Boy said, "Who's that?"

"Cinderblock," huffed elder Cyborg.

"Oh," the changeling replied, not even bothering to ask one of the many questions running through his head.

"Well, don't leave him there," said the future Raven. "Put him with all the other fallen criminals," she said, gesturing to where an unconscious Plasmus and Overload where placed. Carelessly, teen Cyborg tossed the heavy villain in that general direction. He landed on the sand with a thud.

"Wait," said teen Raven, looking slightly confused. "Aren't Robin, Nightwing and Starfire supposed to be with you?"

"No," said the older Cyborg. "We separated."

The older Beast Boy frowned. "Well, that wasn't very smart of them. Now their completely vulnerable!"

"Yeah, we have to go back and help them!" shouted teen Beast Boy, standing up.

Elder Raven grabbed his wrist to stop him. "No," she said. "This is something that Nightwing and Robin have to do on their own."

"She's right," added the younger Cyborg. "Don't worry about them too much. Everything will turn out just fine."

"Yeah," teen Beast Boy sighed. "Just fine."

***

**3:45 AM**

"No."

"It's the only way."

"_No way._"

"Look, do you want to save Starfire or not?"

Robin scowled. "You know I do."

"Well then, follow me." And with that, Nightwing got onto all fours and crawled through a small, narrow passage.

After leaving the two Cyborgs, it was not too long before Nightwing and Robin encountered yet another problem – a dead end. The only way through was a tiny passageway that led to God knows where. It was small, but large enough to fit both Robin and Nightwing through if they crawled on their hands and knees. The idea of crawling through a cramped tunnel with Nightwing's ass in his face was not particularly appealing to Robin.

"Hey, you coming or not?" The older vigilante's voice echoed from the teeny tunnel.

With a final grimace, Robin followed.

For a while, the travel in the tunnel was pleasant. Neither Robin nor Nightwing elicited a conversation, but both were completely content with the silence that left them alone to their thoughts.

'_I hope she's alright,' _thought Robin as jagged rocks tore through his spandex costume. _'If she's hurt in any way, I swear on my mask and cape that I will make Slade pay,' _he solemnly promised himself. He followed Nightwing closely with renewed determination.

'_This is ridiculous,' _Nightwing thought as he crawled through the tunnel. _'Slade has got to have an ulterior motive. If I remember correctly, kidnapping was never his style. He was more of a mind fuck than just an average criminal._ _Nothing going on makes sense at all...'_

Suddenly, Nightwing stopped short, causing Robin to collide head on with his backside.

"Ugh!" groaned Robin at the contact. "What are you doing?!"

"Don't you see it?"

"See what, you crazy –"

"Slade would never have been able to fit Starfire and himself through this little tunnel," Nightwing said.

Robin's face fell. "So are you telling me that for the past two hours I have been on a wild goose chase?"

"Maybe not," replied Nightwing after a thoughtful silence. "Maybe this is just a roundabout route to the same place."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "So are you saying that there are two entrances to where he's keeping Star?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Nightwing responded. He continued crawling down the path.

***

**3:52 AM**

The tunnel had finally ended, but neither Nightwing nor Robin had expected to see what they saw when they stumbled out of the small pathway.

It was a large room with floors littered with bat droppings. Several puddles had collected from the water dripping from the ceiling. The bat's squeaks echoed eerily off of the walls.

And in the center of it all was Starfire, chained up to the wall and illuminated by a spotlight. Her body had blatantly been abused; bruises covered her so completely that the sickly purplish color of them could have been mistaken to be her skin tone rather that the glowing orange that it really was. Her hair was tangled horrendously and seemed to be caked with blood. Her skirt was ripped, showing more of Starfire than it ever had. To the two vigilantes, she looked like a fallen angel.

Nightwing was the first to recover from the shock of the scene. He broke out into a dead run toward her chained body. He was nearly there but was unexpectedly blocked by one of the last people he expected to see.

"Oh, no, big boy," Kitten teased.

"_Move,_" growled Nightwing with uncharacteristic malice.

"No can do," she shot back.

Nightwing cracked his fingers and neck balefully, much like Kitten had done to Starfire hours earlier. The hero fell into an offensive position. "If you don't move, than I will have to _make _you move."

Kitten went into a stance that was much akin to Nightwing's. "I'd like to see you try."

Meanwhile, Robin had finally come out of his dumbstruck stupor. He had never in his life expected to see Starfire so helpless looking, but there she was, right before his eyes, barely conscious and looking utterly defeated. Robin sprinted to her chained body but as he came closer his pace began to slow. The nearer he got, the more clearly he could make out her serious injuries. The rash on her arm was a blaring fiery red and her breathing was noticeably labored. Although he was not certain, Robin could tell that the cause was a broken rib or something worse.

Robin was now close enough to Starfire to reach out and touch her but he could not bring himself to do so, in fear of breaking whatever was left of her. Deftly he relinquished a laser from his utility belt and began to free her of her bonds. He caught her in his arms as he cut the last chain from her wrist. Red paths trailed around her wrists from where the chains had been tied too tightly. Robin's body shook with rage that was one hundred times more intense than what he had felt toward Nightwing in the garage, but he managed to contain it.

The Boy Wonder removed his cape and gently laid Starfire's head on it. Tears burned his eyes, but Robin refused to shed any of them. Now was not a time for weakness.

"Star," he called to her desperately. "Star, please be okay..."

From somewhere Robin couldn't see came the familiar sound of sinister laughter. The Boy Wonder recognized it instantly.

"Don't worry too much, Robin. She'll probably recover." Robin's eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth at the voice. "Yes," continued the sadistic villain, "she'll be perfectly fine, which is more than I can say for you."

Robin slowly stood from his crouched position next to Starfire's unconscious body with his back turned to Slade. His fists were clutched tightly and his temple throbbed angrily. Even though his body was quivering with barely contained anger, Robin's voice was shockingly calm when he spoke. "Slade, you better hope that you kill me tonight because if you don't, I swear I'll make you pay for what you've done."

Slade laughed mockingly. "What would you do?" he asked. "Kill me?" He laughed again.

Robin turned around so that he was now facing Slade. He walked slowly toward the villain. "No," he said. "Make no mistake, Slade. When I'm finished with you, you'd be wishing that I had killed you."

Slade smugly crossed his arms. "Well then come on, little boy," he jeered. "Bring it."

With an animalistic growl, Robin tackled his arch enemy.

Somewhere else in the room, Nightwing and Kitten we already locked in a heated battle. Punches and kicks were thrown at each other, but Nightwing quickly discovered that he had the upper hand due to his extensive martial arts experience. Realizing this, he decided to fight her with more vigor to incapacitate her quicker. The faster he got rid of Kitten, the quicker he'd be able to get Starfire to safety.

Out of the corner of his eye, Nightwing watched as Robin freed Starfire. Although the vigilante tried to suppress it, Nightwing felt jealous that the Boy Wonder was rescuing her, but he tried not to dwell on these feelings. He knew that his crazy emotions wouldn't do the situation any good.

In a moment of weakness, Kitten managed to land a cheap shot to Nightwing's gut, causing the wind to be knocked out of him. She swiped her sharp nails across his face, shedding blood. "Give up yet?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," he retorted, delivering a sweeping kick to Kitten's feet, causing her to fall awkwardly onto the rocky cave floor.

The blond quickly stood, not happy at all. "Ew! I have bat shit stuck in my hair!" She furiously began to comb her fingers through her tangled golden tresses, trying to dislodge the bat pellets. "Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck!"

Deftly, Nightwing extracted a small cloth coated in an aesthetic from his utility belt. "Here, take a load off," he told Kitten before covering her nose with the rag. She struggled helplessly, but could not overcome Nightwing's strength. She was asleep on the floor within seconds. "Ok," said Nightwing to himself as he finished off the teenage villain, "now to get Star."

Across the room, Robin and Slade were evenly matched.

A punch for a punch.

A kick for a kick.

The battle was going nowhere fast.

In desperation, Robin extracted a handful of gas bombs from his belt and through them toward the villain. They exploded upon contact, releasing a cloud of smoke that concealed anything the darkness hadn't. It was now impossible to see. Robin was taking a chance by making it difficult for either of them too see considering that he had little experience fighting blind, but it was a chance he had to take. If this didn't work, he didn't know what would.

He shut out all his senses and focused on what he was hearing. There were incessant bats still squeaking above him. He could hear breathing patterns: his own, Nightwing's ragged gasps, and Kitten's slow even breathing. Suddenly he heard gravely crunching from behind him. He swiftly turned around and delivered a roundhouse kick to the head of his opponent.

Slade's mask fell to the floor with a distinct _crunch_ on the rocky surface.

Robin braced himself for a return attack from the villain but grew suspicious when no punches were thrown. He took his flashlight out of his utility belt and pointed it into the direction where he thought Slade was.

First he found his feet on the ground. He very slowly brought the flashlight up to Slade's face, already knowing – and dreading – what he'd see. (3)

The face of a robot stared back at him.

Anger, defeat, shame, and despair rolled like waves in his mind. How could he not have known? He was always aware that Slade was a coward; obviously he wouldn't have stayed for his own confrontation.

Robin furiously punched the human-like robot, sending it tumbling to the ground. When it hit the hard surface, the screen on the robot's face flashed and turned on.

"Robin..." The Boy Wonder gaped at Slade's image as it appeared on the screen. The villain continued, "By now, you have realized that you've been fooled. I left you're precious little Tamaranean alone with my apprentice before you arrived in this chamber and replaced myself with this robot." He smirked. "I bet you feel like an idiot, don't you?" He cackled.

"Shut _up!_" growled Robin, punctuating the statement with a swift kick to the robot's head.

The image on the screen fuzzed out for a second, but quickly restored itself. "Well, what I've got to say is going to make you feel even worse. You and your little friend – or shall I say friends? – have three minutes before this chamber explodes. Good luck, considering you won't be able to see anything." With that statement, the only lighting in the room, Starfire's spotlight, went out. "Looks like I win the game, Boy Wonder." The image on the screen went black and was replaced with blaring red numbers. A countdown.

"Oh, _fuck!_" exclaimed the Boy Wonder. He took deep breaths to calm himself and free his mind. This was no time to panic.

"What the hell? Who turned off the lights?" called Nightwing from somewhere to Robin's distant right. He was with Starfire.

Robin could see the dot of light that came from his partner's flashlight. "We have to get out of here. _Now!_" yelled the Boy Wonder.

"Well, don't you think that it'll be a little difficult considering there's no light in here?" Nightwing asked sarcastically.

"Well, no shit! That's the point! Slade wants us to _die _here!"

"What are you talking about? What's going on?"

The conversation that was developing was getting on Robin's nerves. There was no time for chit chat. "This place is gonna blow in –" he glanced at the foreboding timer, "– two minutes and thirty seven seconds. We need a way out." Robin's tone told Nightwing to not question, just follow directions.

The Boy Wonder could see that there was a shift in the way Nightwing held his flashlight. Robin assumed that he picked up Starfire. "Try to find an exit along the wall," advised the older vigilante, but Robin was already two steps ahead of him.

Both heroes rested a hand upon a wall and walked in one direction, trying to find an opening. Robin became impatient quickly. "Well don't have time for this! This room is too big; we'll never find a way out in time!" Nightwing remained silent. Robin got even more fed up. "Do you have any better ideas?!"

"Actually," came Nightwing's voice from somewhere across the room. "I think I might." The older vigilante turned his flashlight toward his younger self. "Come toward my light."

Robin stumbled over. On his way he took a glance at the countdown clock. Only two minutes left.

"Grab my arm so we don't get separated. I have an idea that might work." Nightwing extracted some sort of device from his utility belt. Nightwing pushed the button on it and put the item back. (4)

Robin looked at Nightwing, at his utility belt, and back at the vigilante. "What the fuck is that supposed to do?!"

"Wait for it..."

"Wait for it? Wait for wha – " Before the words were out of the Boy Wonder's mouth, every bat left on the ceiling erupted in a hectic frenzy. "Whoa..."

"Follow them!" The two heroes pointed their flashlights at the ceiling to track the bat's movement. One group, they noticed, left through the same tunnel that they had come through, but a much larger group were flying and a different direction. The way out...

The both of them and Starfire, who was nestled in Nightwing's arms, followed the group to a strange formation in the cave wall that led down a larger tunnel. At the end of it Robin could swear he could see moonlight shining down from the night sky. Gleefully, Nightwing almost followed Robin down the tunnel until he realized he had forgotten something, or rather, someone.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed. "I forgot about Kitten!"

Robin let go of the older vigilante's elbow. "Where is she?"

"She's still inside somewhere."

The Boy Wonder nodded. "Go on without me. I'll be there soon."

Nightwing gave him a questioning look. "But –"

"Just _go_," instructed the Boy Wonder before making an about-face back into the dark cave. With adrenaline pumping through his veins, it did not take Robin long to find Kitten's sleeping body. He deftly scooped her up and carefully retraced his steps back to the exit, managing to only stumble once.

The Boy Wonder sped down the passageway. '_Safety!_' His mind screamed as he neared the moonlight, but, of course, nothing was ever as it seemed. It came to a dead end. "Oh you have _got _to be shitting me."

"Up here!" called a voice from above him. He looked up. It was Nightwing. "Use your rope!"

Of course, Robin already knew he had to do that. Hastily, he shot his rope to the top of the hole where it snagged on something. Before going up, the Boy Wonder wrapped himself and Kitten with his cape. Robin pushed a button, sending himself and Kitten speeding toward the exit. Almost halfway out of the hole, Robin could hear several bombs detonating. He could feel the heat of the explosion against his cape. The shockwaves pushed Kitten and Robin out of the hole and tumbling over the sandy terrain.

Nightwing watched raptly as the bay bubbled violently. The water was filling up the underground trail that they'd just gone through. If it wasn't the explosions that killed them, than the water definitely would have.

Robin's head was still throbbing from his injury earlier. Being flung out of a hole twenty feet in the air and landing rather roughly hadn't helped at all. The Boy Wonder watched the scene, even as he felt his consciousness eluding him.

'_At least we're safe,' _was his last though before he passed out.

Nightwing glanced down at the girl still nested in his arms.

_At least they were _all _safe..._

*******

_**... End Chapter 10 ...**_

(1) Let's not forget that Kitten's self centered. In the episode she appears in she only cares about going out with Robin to make her more popular.

(2) No, Slade doesn't desire Starfire or anything weird like that. He only likes making her uncomfortable.

(3) I can't remember if the time frame of my story comes before or after the episode where Robin fights Slade-the-robot. Let's pretend it's after.

(4) This idea is from the device Batman uses in the Justice League episode "Starcrossed", so don't think it was a stupid idea for a weapon, cuz Batman used it first.


	10. Healing

**BACK TO THE PRESENT**_**  
**_**Chapter 10: Healing**

**By Jacque Nicole**

*******

"ARGH!"

"Robin, calm down..."

"I'll fucking kill him!"

"Robin..."

"When I'm finished with him, he'll wish he'd never been born. I swear to God, I'll tear him limb from limb."

"You're being irrational."

"Irrational! What the fuck, Raven? You've seen her –"

"Yes, I have, and you're not the only one that feels the way you do, but we can't let ourselves dwell on what's happened. It'll only drive us all crazy. What Starfire needs now is strength and support to get through this. Can't you, at least, give her that?"

"... I think, now, that's all I have left to give."

*******

_Three Days Ago  
(The Day of the Rescue)  
Titans' Tower_

**4:27 AM**

"Set her down! Set her down!"

"Gently!"

"No, not there, the infirmary!"

"Oh my god, what did he do to her?"

There was chaotic confusion when the Titans finally managed to retrieve their wounded teammates from the opposite end of the bay and bring them into the safety of their abode. The Beast Boys and Ravens were left to tend to Nightwing, Robin, and especially Starfire's injuries while the two Cyborgs looked after the four villains they had managed to capture.

Slade had once again eluded them.

With the exception of Cinderblock (who had a strange tendency to sleepwalk), all the villains remained unconscious and caused no trouble when the authorities picked them up, but there was no time to think about them now.

"Here," said older Raven, pointing to three empty beds in the infirmary that were adjacent to one another. The two Beast Boys (who were in the form of gorillas) carried their leaders in and placed them on the beds that Raven pointed out.

Nightwing squirmed uneasily. "Leave me alone. I'm fine!" he argued.

The gorilla that held him de-transformed into the older Beast Boy. "Dude, that's not what you were saying when I had to carry you off that beach."

The older vigilante narrowed his eyes. "I said, I'm _fine_."

The changeling nodded disbelievingly. He supposed that Robin would have been acting similarly if his concussion hadn't caused him to pass out shortly after coming into the tower.

Suddenly, Beast Boy felt something yanking at his spandex costume. The green man looked down and into the frantic eyes of his leader and friend. "Where is she?" he asked.

Beast Boy was speechless. He settled on just shrugging and giving an uncertain look in response. Nightwing would have said something back to him, but was quickly distracted by who had just walked through the doors.

Teen Raven entered the room slowly, Starfire enveloped within her magic as she carried the Tamaranean with it. Silently, she placed the limp teenager's body on bed between Nightwing and Robin's. The older Raven immediately went to action, checking her young friend's vitals and slipping an automatic thermometer under her tongue.

"Heart rate at 40 beats per minute. She's critical," she said, falling into doctor mode.

"What?" Nightwing whispered incredulously. After all this, after they thought everything would be alright, Starfire _still _might die. This just _wasn't _right.

The thermometer beeped, cutting off Nightwing's chain of thought. Raven pulled it out of the read head's mouth. "Temperature..." She trailed off, eyes becoming wide. "Shit!" She grabbed her clipboard and quickly jotted down the information while simultaneously giving more orders. "Ice," she commanded. "Get me some ice. We need to cool her down."

Teen Beast Boy transformed out of gorilla form to fulfill the task. Nightwing rolled over in his bed, toward where the older Raven was preparing an IV for Starfire. "Tell me," he urged. "What was her temperature?" Raven gave him a sad look, as if she did not want to respond. Nightwing was not taking 'no' for an answer. "_Raven..._" The empath ignored him, continuing her medical care. The injured vigilante was beginning to get fed up now. "I said –"

"One hundred six point five," she snapped. "She's one point five away from death. Are you happy now?"

Nightwing's face contorted strangely, his anger welling up inside him and over flowing. He grabbed the closest thing he could find, a glass cup filled with water on an end table next to his bed, and hurled it at the infirmary door just as it opened revealing the two Cyborgs. The broken glass did not startle them too much; they had expected things to be chaotic considering everything that had happened.

The elder Raven tossed the clipboard over to the two robots whom had just about the same amount of medical experience as she had. "Blood sample," said the half demon woman simply. Immediately, the older Cyborg went over to a drawer stuffed with packaged needles. His younger counterpart stooped down to the floor and vacuumed up the broken shards of glass with his robotic hand.

Suddenly, Teen Beast Boy sprang through the doors, nearly knocking the teenage robot off balance as he finished cleaning up the broken pieces of glass. Cyborg stumbled back a little, slightly nudging Raven as she tended to Robin's head injuries. The changeling muttered a quick apology before getting to Starfire's bedside.

"We didn't have any," he said.

"...What?" The older Raven had been so preoccupied by the matter at hand that she completely forgot that she'd sent Beast Boy away in the first place.

"Ice," he replied. "There was no ice in the freezer. I took out the frozen veggies instead," he said, handing several bags of the frozen foods to her.

"Oh." The empath shoved the couple of bags close to the Tamaranean teenager's body. She turned back to Beast Boy. "Thanks."

"Watch out," Cyborg warned as he came toward the two. "I need to take a blood sample."

The pair quickly got out of the way so that he could do his job. "Beast Boy," said the older Raven as she moved to the other side of Starfire's bed, "do me a favor and cast up Nightwing's leg for me. I'm kind of busy."

"I don't need it," argued Nightwing. "I'm fine." The half demon ignored his retort.

Teen Beast Boy's eyes widened nervously. "But –"

"Everything you need is over there, I think," she said, pointing toward a section of the room with several drawers and cabinets lining the walls.

"But Raven –"

"I don't have time to chat right now," she interrupted, going back to assist Starfire as Cyborg finished up.

Teen Beast Boy was grinding his teeth together in frustration. He turned around and found his counterpart nearby. "You're helping me," he grumbled, dragging his along to the supply closet.

Meanwhile, teen Raven was working on Robin. She was using her healing powers the same way she had when she was in the cave and could feel Robin's head healing nicely. He would be well in no time, but Raven couldn't help but wonder if her leader was better off unconscious. She knew how much Robin cared for Starfire. She – hell, the whole team, excluding Starfire herself, of course – knew how much Robin loved her. Waking up to the site of Starfire's abused body would shock him beyond belief. There was no telling how he'd react.

Despite her doubts, teenage Raven pushed on. He deserved to be awake to see her. He needed to be assured that his efforts to save her were not made in vain.

Robin's mind was clouded as he fell back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness. He felt the fuzziness steadily melting away as he slowly became more aware of his surroundings. The light in the room was blindingly bright, he noticed as he tentatively cracked an eye open, only to quickly shut it again. The whole room smelt so sickeningly of sterilization that it made his already nauseated stomach churn. Immediately, he knew he was in the infirmary.

Groaning unintelligibly, Robin shifted slightly in the bed to let Raven – who Robin knew was using her powers and precious energy to heal him – know that he was now fully awake. To the Boy Wonder's chagrin, his empathic friend did not stop the healing process, which Robin was secretly grateful for.

"Ow..." he moaned as a particularly painful throb assaulted him. Thanks to Raven, it was gone almost immediately.

From the change she felt in Robin's brain patterns, Raven could tell that he was awake, but she did not let up on her powers at all. In fact, she actually pushed even harder for Robin to heal. The last thing she wanted was another relapse when she got him well again.

The Boy Wonder opened his eyes once again, getting them used to the lights in the room. He could feel Raven's fingertips on his temples and could see her leaning above him, surrounded by her aura of power. She looked at peace but also determined at her task. Robin admired Raven for that.

Robin knew that Starfire's bed was to his left. How he was sure, he did not know. Maybe it was his instincts telling him, but somehow, Robin was absolutely certain that Starfire was right next to him without having seen her there. It would be so easy for him to just turn his head to the side to look at her, but he wasn't completely sure that he was ready to see the reality of the situation.

Yes, he had seen her injuries in the cave, but it was so much easier there. There was so much adrenaline coursing through his veins and all he was focused on was getting her out of danger. Here, he knew that the pristine, blank surroundings would contrast Starfire's injuries.

Finally, Robin turned his head toward to girl's bed. What he saw shocked him to the core. Tubes connected her to an IV. Her skin looked bruised and battered. The sickening purple color could almost be mistaken for her skin tone. He couldn't see her back, but he knew that some deep gashes had to be there after being chained to a rock wall for such a long time.

Robin felt like he needed to throw up. Cry. _Something._

The feelings left him as quickly as he came as Raven subdued them, but that did not change the fact that Starfire was lying in a bed, unconscious.

'_Oh, God, why couldn't I save her?'_

Across the room, the two Beast Boys were failing at their attempt to bandage Nightwing's wounds. Not only had neither of them have much experience at that kind of thing, but Nightwing was also barking orders at them like a drill sergeant.

"No, no, no, Beast Boy! What are you doing?" yelled the vigilante at the teenage changeling. "You need to bandage that first, _then_ put an ace bandage over it. Haven't you even taken first aid?"

"Chill out dude, I'm trying!" snapped teen Beast Boy.

"Yea, whatever. Just get some antiseptic for my cuts. Can you handle that, or do you need some help with that too?"

Grumbling, teen Beast Boy thrust all the bandages he held into his older counterpart's arms. "Yea, I can handle it... jerk..."

"What was that?" asked the vigilante between clenched teeth as the older Beast Boy haphazardly repaired his leg.

"Nothing!" lied the changeling as he rummaged through the through the drawers on the opposite side of the room in search of antiseptic. Looking defeated, Beast Boy closed the door. His expression suddenly brightened as he spotted an unmarked brown bottle on top of the cabinet. He quickly took it down and rejoined his counterpart and Nightwing. "Alright," he said. "Where are you cut?"

Nightwing sighed. "Everywhere."

Beast Boy decided to begin on Nightwing's face. He poured some of the maroon tinted salve on his hand and dabbed some on the vigilante's lacerations, Nightwing cringing at the contact.

To the surprise of the teenage changeling, the cream began to bubble and spread across Nightwing's face. That wasn't supposed to happen. "Uh, Nightwing? ...Is this stuff supposed to bubble?"

The vigilante rolled his eyes. "Of course not."

Beast Boy felt his throat begin to constrict in apprehension. "I told you that I had no idea what I was doing, right?" he mentioned meekly. By this time, the substance was centimeters away from obscuring Nightwing's vision.

"Beast Boy, what are you talk –" The vigilante's words were abruptly cut off when the substance made its way into his mouth, nearly choking him. Immediately, Nightwing went into a frenzy.

Older Beast Boy looked on to this ordeal in shock. Slowly, he inched his way over to the two Cyborgs who were busy working at a nearby table, examining Starfire's blood sample. "Uh, Cy..."

Without looking up, both Cyborgs replied. "What?"

"Dudes, I'm no doctor or anything, but I _really_ don't think antiseptic is supposed to fight back."

Both Cyborgs halted their movement and looked up simultaneously. "Oh _shit_!" exclaimed the younger Cyborg as he rushed toward the scene. The older Cyborg just shrugged his shoulder and continued what he was doing.

Meanwhile, the older Raven was too preoccupied with trying to locate traces of the toxin in Starfire's bloodstream using her healing powers. The younger Raven and Robin tried to ignore the commotion.

"Beast Boy, what the hell did you do?!" asked teenage Cyborg angrily as he grabbed a towel from nearby.

"I don't know, dude! What kind of ointment swallows you whole?" replied Beast Boy anxiously.

"That wasn't ointment, you dipshit," he replied as he cleaned off Nightwing's face. "That was an experimental mixture of Plasmus' DNA." Snatching the towel away, Nightwing finished wiping off his face.

"Dude, why the hell would your keep something like that lying around – especially in an _infirmary_?" Beast Boy argued.

Cyborg just rolled his eyes in response. "Maybe you should read bottles next time."

Before Beast Boy could retort, the older Raved interrupted. "Shut up," she said as she broke her concentration. There wasn't much she could do for Starfire until she had the results from her blood tests. "Cyborg, finish up Nightwing's leg so he can get out of here."

Cyborg obliged and in no time, Nightwing was all bandaged up.

"Dude," said Beast Boy, "I'm sorry about –"

"Don't worry about it," the vigilante cut in as he grabbed the crutches Raven provided for him. "Just promise me that you will never try first aid on me ever again."

Teen Beast Boy smiled. "Gladly."

Expertly, Nightwing used his crutches to maneuver around toward Starfire's bedside. Being a hero without super abilities gave one a lot of experience with them.

Once at the bedside, Nightwing gave Starfire a lingering look of guilt. Despite the words of his teammates, deep down inside, Nightwing still felt that he was at fault. He bent down as well as he could with the crutches and pressed his lips to Starfire's warm, soft cheek. He peeked up at Robin from the chaste kiss expecting a confrontation, but unexpectedly, he received none. With no desire to instigate an argument, he let it go.

"Get better soon, Star. We need you," he whispered into the unconscious Tamaranean's ear. "..._I_ need you." He delivered one final kiss to her cheek before standing up. He lumbered past Robin's bed with one glance at the Boy Wonder. Never before had Nightwing seen anyone look so crestfallen. _'But then again,'_ he thought as he walked out the door. _'I haven't had a chance to check a mirror.'_

*******

_Much Later...  
The Next Day_

Robin lay as still as a rock in his disheveled bed in the center of his dark, lonely bedroom, staring listlessly at his white ceiling. He was not sure whether it had been twenty minutes or twenty hours since he had been forbidden to leave his room until his health improved, nor did he care very much. _'It doesn't matter anyway,'_ he thought solemnly to himself. _'What's the use of time when _she's _not around to spend it with?_'

Make no mistake, Robin _did_ try to escape from his impromptu prison, but his friends were too smart to be tricked. As soon as he was locked in his quarters, he tried using the ventilation system to navigate out. Once he had made it to the Main Room, however, he was easily discovered and forced back into his room.

Sighing heavily, Robin rolled over in the bed. _'I _will _find a way to come see you, Star...'_

*******

"Cy, do you think you could pass me that test tube?"

The future Cyborg and Raven were alone in the laboratory, working diligently on Starfire's blood sample. It had been a little more than a day since they first began testing, and both of them knew that they made little progress.

"Sure," the robotic man replied to his teammate, passing the small glass cylinder to his friend. "But Raven, don't you think –"

"– Thanks," interrupted the empath. She had a feeling she knew what Cyborg was going to say anyway. She just didn't want to hear the truth... not just yet, anyway. Raven filled the test tube with a teal tinted solution and then tentatively dripped a little bit of Starfire's blood into the tube. The mixture became an odd shade of yellow. With a scowl, Raven placed the glass cylinder next to all the other test tubes with yellow liquid in them. "Another inconclusive result," she whispered to herself.

Across the room, Cyborg slammed his hand on his work desk loudly, brandishing a test tube full of a yellow liquid just like Raven's. "This is ridiculous Raven! We are getting absolutely nowhere, fast!" he yelled angrily.

"Don't you think I know that Cyborg!" snapped the sorceress. "Believe me, I'm just as tired as you are, but I'm not going to just give up on this. I mean – this is someone's _life_."

"I _know_ that," expressed the robot. "But we need help. This lab doesn't have the resources we require to get this the information that we need."

Raven sighed. "Well, do you have any ideas? Because I sure don't know what to do."

Cyborg smiled. "Actually, I think I get in contact with someone who can do something about this problem."

"Well good, but until then, hand me another test tube."

*******

The door to the infirmary creaked open, the sound disturbing the monotony of the beeps that resounded from Starfire's heart monitor. A green head tentatively popped out from behind the door. After noticing that the room was finally empty except for the fallen titan that still lay unconscious in bed, Beast Boy made a beeline for Starfire's bedside.

He sat on a chair next to the bed and, for a while, he only stared at his red headed friend. Finally, he mustered up some words. "You know, out of all of the titans, you were the last one I'd ever expect to see in a situation like this." The young hero got no answer, of course, but he felt somewhat comforting to be able to talk to her face-to-face. "You're, like, super strong... I had totally admired you for that..." He paused. "No," he said finally. "I totally _admire _you. There's no past tense when I'm talking about you, Star. You're not leaving us anytime soon."

Beast Boy squirmed around in his seat, self consciously at a loss for words. A strange smile crossed his face as he let out a little chuckle. "You always laughed at my jokes. I love that about you. You're so nice to everyone, no matter how shit-faced they are.

"You definitely don't deserve this," he said, gesturing to all the tubes and machines connected to her. "But," he began, his tone lightening, "this is just like any other injury you would get, right? You'll be back on your feet in no time." His smile of confidence faltered a little. The changeling sighed as he got up and began to move toward the door. "Just do us all a favor and get well soon, Star."

And he left.

*******

Robin was tired, but would not allow himself to sleep. Hell, he probably couldn't sleep even if he tried, considering his emotions were still deeply disturbing him.

The teenage vigilante glanced over at the digital clock near his bed. Hours had passed, he realized, since the last time he looked at it.

Over the past couple of hours, Robin had been keeping track of who was outside his door. There was a steady pattern – Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven... Cyborg, Beast Boy – and by now, Robin knew that it was his teammate, Raven's, turn to watch over him. The absolute silence in the hallway told him that he was right.

Robin scooted to the end of his bed and sat up, his head beginning to swim from his injury. He stood up, his body suddenly aching tremendously, but he would not lie back down. There was something that he had to do.

He stumbled across his dark room on shaky legs, nearly tripping over neglected food trays that had been sent to him.

Finally, Robin made it to the door. The Boy Wonder leaned heavily against the wall as he pressed a button to open the door. It slid aside, revealing Raven floating in midair in a meditated state.

"Rae..." said Robin, disturbing the empath.

Raven cracked open one eyelid but kept herself levitated. "Robin? You're supposed to be resting."

"I think I've been resting long enough," he retorted.

Raven sighed tiredly. "I knew you were going to say something like that. Robin, you know I can't let you out."

"Well why the hell not?" he replied indignantly.

The teenage sorceress gave the young hero a blank, disbelieving look. "Are you kidding me? You can hardly hold yourself up. You're leaning on that wall like it's your life support. I can't let you go anywhere until you are feeling better."

"I'm fine."

At this point, Raven lowered herself to the floor. "That's the same thing Nightwing said when we were bandaging his leg, but you wouldn't know that, would you? You were unconscious at the time..."

"I said I'm _fine_."

"Did anyone ever tell you how stubborn you are?" replied Raven.

"Raven," began Robin seriously. "You don't understand. That's _Starfire_ down there, hooked up to tubes and machines... I just want to see her... _Please_..."

A silence fell between the two. Robin's eyes were hidden behind his mask, but, somehow, Raven could feel them staring at her, searching for sympathy.

Finally, Raven spoke. "Ok, I'm going to turn around and if you just _happen_ to not be behind me when I turn back... Well, there's nothing I could have done to stop you if I didn't even see you leave, now is there?" And with that, she turned her back to the hero.

Robin smiled gratefully. "Thank you so much Raven. You have no idea how much this means to me."

By the time Raven turned back around, there was no trace of the Boy Wonder ever being there.

Meanwhile, Robin was already half way to the Main Room, the tower strangely quiet for that time of day. As he passed to gym, he heard people handling the equipment and immediately knew that it was the Cyborgs. Cyborg always worked out to relive stress.

Cautiously, Robin stealthily made his way into the Main Room, expecting the Beast Boys to be busy playing the GameStation. He was surprised to find the room completely empty, but he did not dwell on this discovery for too long.

He quickly navigated his way across the tower on shaky legs and managed to avoid an encounter with any of the Titans, although he had a close call with someone leaving the infirmary just before he entered.

Robin slipped into the infirmary's door, the sudden smell of antiseptic taking him by surprise just as it had two days before. The blandness of the room, bright light, and smell all contributed to a horrid migraine that was beginning to manifest in Robin's head.

Ignoring the sensations, Robin made his way over to the chair pulled close to Starfire's bedside, his eyes unable to leave the teenage Tamaranean's angelic face. He sat down, the chair still warm from whoever paid her a visit before him.

The Boy Wonder had finally achieved his goal of visiting his fallen teammate, but now that he was here he could not bring himself to utter a word. He took one of the girl's warm hands into his own, bringing her palm up to his lips and kissing it affectionately. Glancing up, Robin looked at Starfire's tranquil, beautiful face, barely containing his heart wrenching sadness.

He placed her hand over his rapidly beating heart. "Do you feel that?" he finally croaked out to her. "You do this to me every time you come near me. I get so nervous... my tongue ties itself into knots... and I resort to talking to you about something that isn't too personal... usually battles. I just wish that I wasn't so scared and just told you everything I was feeling when I had the chance." He sighed. "I was so stupid... Now look what's happened..."

Abruptly, he changed the subject to take his mind off of the Slade ordeal. "Remember that argument we had a couple of days ago?" he asked her. Of course, he expected no reply. "I don't think I'll ever forget that day. It was the last time we really talked to each other each other before..." he trailed off, unsure if he wanted to finish that sentence. "You said that I knew nothing about you and that... that you knew nothing about me. I didn't believe it then but now, after all that's happened, I've realized that you were right. I don't know anything but, God, I really want us to get to know each other better. I want us to have another chance... A better chance... You just have to get through this, Star. That's all I'm asking. Just get through this."

Robin knew how pathetic he sounded and felt, but he didn't care. "My name is Dick Grayson," he told her. "I figure the first thing you should know about me is my real name. I like the color red and I hate Brussels sprouts," he went on, telling her all the miscellaneous information about himself that he could think of. "My eyes..." he reached up to his face, and pulled off his mask, "...are blue," he finished, his ocean blue eyes set on the Tamaranean. They were wet with tears, and an outline of the mask contrasted against the darker skin on his face. "You were right when you said I hid behind my mask. I don't want to do that anymore... Not with you, Star.

"I have a birth mark on my left shoulder, I was adopted, I can't live without my hair gel, and..." he trailed off, at a loss for words. He said the first thing that came to his mind. "I think you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, inside and out, and I just hope that you can forgive me for all that's happened because... because..." The Boy Wonder rested his head on her chest as it moved up and down, ignoring the tears that were cascading freely down his pale face. "I love you."

"She can't hear you, you know."

Robin's head shot up from her chest quickly. Ocean blue eyes clashed with the same shade of ocean blue.

Nightwing.

Robin sighed, putting his head right back in the position it was in before the other vigilante walked through the door. "What do you want," he asked, too tired to be angry that his privacy was intruded upon.

"You're not supposed to be down here," he replied as-a-matter-of-fact-ly.

"Yeah, so?"

Nightwing decided not to comment on it. "Cyborg told me that the lab equipment here was inadequate to test Starfire's blood. We don't know enough about Tamaranean physiology to get the results we need."

This was bad news, Robin knew. He sat up and buried his face into his own hands. "And?"

"He came to me, thinking that I would know someone with more advanced technology that can help us." Nightwing, who had long ago changed out of his khaki pants and t-shirt and back into his black spandex, pulled up a chair on the opposite side of Starfire's bed and setting his crutches on the bed behind him. "I told him that I would talk to you about it."

"And?" prompted Robin, frustrated.

"And I think you know who I'm talking about."

Robin did. Robin knew from the very beginning that they we're going to need _his_ outside help. _He_ was just the last person Robin wanted to talk to. "Fine," replied to Boy Wonder, standing up from his seat. "Let's go."

Nightwing followed the boy out of the room, holding the door open for teenage Cyborg who also wanted to pay his friend a visit. Before closing it he gave Starfire one last lingering look. _'Don't worry, Star,'_ he thought to himself. _'It's going to turn out alright.'_

*******

The infirmary door quickly closed behind the robotic teenager with a resounding _click_ echoing in the silence. Teen Cyborg entered the room lightheartedly and sat down on the chair that was already pulled close to the patient's bed. He plopped down on it with a huge grin on his face.

"Hey Star!" he greeted conversationally, as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with the Tamaranean at all.

"You gave all of us a pretty bad shock back there, girl," said Cyborg to one of his closest friends. "They all got pretty damn scared for you, but I knew better," he boasted with a proud grin. "You can get through anything. Don't let whatever's keeping you unconscious hold you down," he said, encouraging her. "Fight it."

Unbeknownst to Cyborg, Starfire's finger's twitched slightly from beneath the blankets.

"You know, when Slade tried to intimidate us with that transmission, I was a little scared, I won't lie, but, damn it, my anger just outweighed that fear _so much_. But then I thought, 'Chill Cy. That girl won't be taken down that easily.' I still don't think you will. Just show everyone that you're stronger than this, girl."

Starfire's breaths began to quicken and become more ragged. Her thumped erratically in her chest.

"I've always had faith in you, Star. Some asshole isn't just gonna walk in and take you down like some amateur. Talk about underest –" Cyborg's words were cut off abruptly by Starfire whose body began to shake and shudder with strong coughs. Her body twisted into the fetal position as she started sucking in wafts of air. Thinking quickly, Cyborg retrieved a bed pan and placed it near her face just in time for her to grab it and heave into it. He rubbed her back comfortingly.

She stopped and leaned back into Cyborg's arms tiredly. "Cyborg," she managed to say, her voice raspy, "As you would say, I feel like the 'shit'."

Cyborg chuckled, holding the girl's shivering body a little closer. "That's my number one girl." Gently, he placed her back on the bed and pulled the blanket over her. "I'll be back in a second. I think there are a couple of more people that want to see you."

"I'm s-so tired..."

"I know," said the robotic teenager as he got up and moved toward the door. "Just keep those pretty eyes open until I come back, ok?" And with that, he left Starfire in the room.

*******

"Oh yeah, man. I'm so kicking your butt!" exclaimed teenage Beast Boy as he faced off against his older counterpart on the GameStation in the Main Room.

"You won't be for long!" replied the future Beast Boy. "You just have an advantage because I haven't played this game in years, but don't worry, no one can beat me in Mega Monkeys 3." The older Beast Boy's orange monkey maneuvered over the teenager's purple one and punched it, effectively KO-ing him. The futuristic changeling scoffed. "I told you I could beat you."

"No way, dude. Rematch!"

Just then, the TV turned off. "Sorry guys," said Robin as he entered with Nightwing, both their masks now back in place over their eyes. Robin had a no-nonsense expression on his face set in stone. "We have to do some work in here."

Both changelings nodded in understanding. They were not going to argue with Robin at all. The tone in his voice told then that he was very serious.

"Nightwing," said Robin, "go to the lab and get a sample of Star's blood."

"Already taken care of," said the older Cyborg as he entered the room with Raven, his teammate. He handed the young vigilante a slide containing a deep red liquid.

Robin took it from him and placed it a compartment that almost looked like a cubby hole near the screen. Robin typed quickly on the console, knowing the information by heart.

Finally, the screen flashed to life, displaying a face that Robin hadn't seen in a very long time.

"Robin? This is a surprise."

'_Don't get used to it,' _Robin wanted to reply, but instead, he said, "As much as I hate to admit it, we need your help, Batman."

Batman leaned back into his chair in the Batcave, expecting this. "With what?"

"I'm sending you a sample of Tamaranean blood. We were unable to accurately test it for foreign components due to the limitations of our equipment," replied the Boy Wonder, trying to keep the whole encounter professional. He should have known Batman would not play along so easily.

"I see," said the legendary hero, his lips curving into a smirk.

"I'm transferring the sample to you now." Robin typed in a few codes, and then the cubby flashed with light. Simultaneously, there was an identical flash on the screen. Batman's hand disappeared from view then reappeared with the same slide containing a red liquid that once was in the compartment. "Thanks. Bye –"

"How have you been, Robin?"

The Boy Wonder tried biting his tongue, but was unable to prevent his next remark. "As if you would care."

Batman chuckled. "Believe it or not, I do. Don't be a stranger." With that, the Dark Knight cut off the transmission.

Robin sighed, relieved that Batman had not noticed the futuristic Titans, or if he had, he didn't mention them. The last thing he wanted to do was find an explanation for them.

Suddenly, the door to the Main Room flew open revealing an excited looking teenage Cyborg.

"Starfire's awake!" he announced happily.

Robin broke into a dead sprint at the news, followed closely by his friends. The door to the infirmary busted open, hitting the wall behind it loudly as almost everyone filed into the room. At the sight of the girl everyone, even Nightwing and Robin stopped in their tracks.

She was curled up in the fetal position, facing the entrance. Her body was shivering, as though she were freezing cold despite the warm temperature of the room and the fact that the bed sheets were on her. She had more color than when she was unconscious, but she still hadn't achieved her usual shade of tanned orange.

Robin ignored all of the proof of her detrimental health and concentrated on only one thing – her big bright green eyes were open and smiling at her friends.

Star was back. Robin had never felt so alive.

Suddenly, Starfire's face contorted and she quickly rolled over and reached for something on the floor near the other side of the bed. The sound of the Tamaranean teen vomiting into the bed pan squeezed Robin's heart.

"Excuse me," the older Raven said, making her way through the group blocking the door. She made her way over to her patient, thermometer in hand.

The group looked on at the scene, each hero feel utter powerless to the situation.

"Could you all leave for a little while?" said Rave after a few minutes. They all began to file out of the door. "No, Robin, not you. Star says she wants to talk to you."

The Boy Wonder made an about-face at the door and was instantly at the girl's side. Discreetly, Raven exited the room.

Looking deeply into Starfire's eyes, Robin could almost see how much this ordeal affected her. She was suppressing many feelings, Robin knew, and he did his best to console her.

"I knew you would come," she whispered to him, having to get used to using her vocal cords after nearly two days of dormancy.

"I hope you never doubted me. I will always come for you," the Boy Wonder whispered back. Robin considered reiterating the speech he made to her to let her know how much he loved her, but decided against it. He would have plenty of time to tell her in time to come.

"No, I did not. I always had faith." Starfire's form shook violently as coughs shook her being. Robin reached out to hold her, but the girl flinched away at the sudden movement. "Sorry," she apologized, allowing the Boy Wonder to wrap an arm around her. "Robin, why do I feel so ill?"

"We don't know yet, Star, but I promise you that we will find out," he swore. He lowered his head and placed a loving kiss on her warm, damp forehead. "I promise."

Just then, the doors swung open.

***

Nightwing waited on the outside of the infirmary door for his chance to speak with Starfire. He had so much to say to her; he tried to straighten out his thoughts and focus.

Make no mistake, Nightwing was a little wary of Starfire and Robin being together alone, especially after his proclamation of love for the girl. The last thing Nightwing wanted was for Robin to badmouth him.

Impatient and paranoid, Nightwing gave a couple of hurried knocks on the door before entering uninvited.

Robin was holding her close as a lover would hold their partner. Starfire was clinging to Robin's costume as if her life depended on it. Her body was shaking less and her breathing was beginning to even out, Nightwing noticed. Her body was drenched in sweat as her body worked to lower her fever.

"You know, you have a knack for coming in at the absolutely wrong times," said the Boy Wonder.

Starfire's face lit up at the sight of Nightwing. With one arm still clutching Robin, she reached out with the other. "Nightwing..." she whispered.

Nightwing wasted no time getting to her side. Once there, the Tamaranean immediately let go of the Boy Wonder and fell into the other vigilante's arms. She said nothing to him, merely sank herself deeper into his arms, and he was happy to oblige. Robin felt a little uncomfortable with the two, like he was the third wheel, but he knew that it wasn't the time for his hormonal emotions to come into play.

"Nightwing was with me when we got you," said Robin.

"I thank you," replied Starfire, as Nightwing leaned her back to place her on her bed.

"Don't thank me. I did it because you are very special to me. I would do anything for you."

Robin scowled at the words. "Maybe we should leave her to rest," said the Boy Wonder as he stood up from his seat.

"Yeah..." Nightwing whispered wistfully, still staring down at the girl.

"_Alone,_" prompted the Boy Wonder, nearly dragging Nightwing out the room with him as the older Raven entered.

"Way to go, Romeo."

Nightwing was surprised by Robin's sarcastic tone as they walked down the hallway to the Main Room together. "What are you talking about?"

"You even hit on her when she's sick. How classy," the teenager growled out angrily.

Nightwing rolled his eyes. "Whatever, man," he said as they entered the room everyone else was in. "It doesn't matter anyway. We're going to go back to our home very soon."

Teen Beast Boys jaw dropped as he faced off against the older Cyborg in Ultimate Fighter IV. "No way, dude."

"Yes way," said Cyborg as he performed a triple mega-ultra-combo that Beast Boy was able to deflect. "We talked about this last night. We figured that we were away from our dimension for long enough. We need to get back."

"It's gonna be so weird having you guys gone," said teen Cyborg as he played the younger Raven in chess. "Check."

"They can visit," Raven replied as she used her mental abilities to move her king. "Checkmate."

Cyborg stared at the game board in shock. "Well I'll be damned."

"You guys will stay here until Star gets a little better, right?" asked teen Beast Boy.

"Of course. I couldn't bear to leave until I know she's going to be alright," answered Nightwing.

"Good," said older Raven who just walked into the room, "because she's going to need all the support she can get."

*******

_One Day Later..._

A day had past. One long, stressful, and wearisome day.

Robin slumped in the chair in the infirmary that morning, waiting for Starfire to wake up. Her condition had not improved much from the previous day, so Robin volunteered to spend the night monitoring her progress.

In actuality, she was doing worse off than the day before, her body even quivering in her sleep. She moaned every so often as if she were in pain.

Starfire had been sleeping since she had been treated by Raven the day before, and Robin did not allow himself to rest until she woke up. The Boy Wonder hated this feeling of dependence on her, but, at the same time, he loved that he had someone to feel it for.

Maybe that was what being in love felt like.

Suddenly, just as his eyelids began to sag close, an alarm sounded and red lights began to blink. They had just gotten a transmission.

Groaning, Robin forced himself up and to the main room to answer the call. The other Titans were already in there, each still dressed in their pajamas and rubbing the sleep out of their eye.

Skipping the 'good morning's' for now, Robin went straight to the huge computer and answered the call. Batman's face filled the screen.

"Robin, you look like hell."

The Boy Wonder rolled his eyes. "That's what happens when you call at the ass crack of dawn."

"I hadn't noticed. I just thought you would like to know what the results of your little friend's blood test were," said the Dark Knight, flashing a sheet of paper in front of the screen.

"Don't play with me."

"Don't get cranky. It really wasn't difficult to pinpoint the problem once I got used to the components of the blood. It seems that your friend has been taking large doses of some sort of modified version of methylenedioxymethamphetamine."

Teenage Beast Boy held his head as he sat on the couch. "Big words not good in morning..."

"That's Ecstasy," explained Robin. "And we knew that," he said to Batman. "She was given it against her will, but she's still sick."

"Really?" said Batman, interested. "What kind of symptoms does she have?"

"Exhaustion, achiness, nausea, fevers... It's like she has the flu."

"There's got to me more than that. Anything unusual?"

"She shivers constantly," the Boy Wonder responded. "And she flinches away whenever I reach for her. I really didn't think anything of it –"

Batman gave him a look as if to say _'obviously'_. "It sounds like your friend is going through withdrawal. Her body had become so accustomed to the drug that it cannot function right without it in her system. This can turn out very, _very_ bad for Starfire."

Robin blinked. He never once mentioned Starfire's name in the conversation. "How did you –"

"I'm not stupid. You should know that by now." The transmission ended.

"What a great way to start the day," Robin sarcastically to himself.

*******

_It was dusk, she could tell, as she ran blindly through the forest. Her heart was pounding wildly, and her limbs seemed to be moving on their own accord. Her own sweat stung her eyes, she was nauseous, and her legs were tiring, but she did not care. She had to get away. Run. It was not safe there._

_She made a quick left into an even thicker section of trees but not once did she trip. Not once did she lose her way or slow down. She was not thinking of her destination, but her body seemed to know the way well._

_The forest became much less dense and the trees shrank in size. Almost there..._

_She was on a plain now – no, she realized, it was a hill. She could barely see where she wanted to be the most, the bright lights on the top of the hill almost teasing her. _

_It was in her eyesight. Oh, X'hal, she wanted it badly._

_She was almost there. Why did it have to mock her so?_

_She had made it. She was on the top of the hill. She bathed in the dancing lights..._

_...and she felt happy._

_Elated._

–_Euphoric.–_

Starfire awoke in a cold sweat. She was in the infirmary, she realized. There was no forest, dancing lights, or hill, just the dull white monotony of the room.

She raised slowly, both of her hands clamped tightly on her head attempting to ease her headache. She hugged her knees together as her body began shaking once again. _Oh X'hal, not again..._

The door opened, and the Tamaranean felt herself shying away before she even had the chance to see who it was.

"Oh, you're awake," said Robin, sitting in the chair that had been occupied by him for the last twenty four hours. "Good morning."

She did not respond. The Boy Wonder raised a brow. "What's the matter?" He reached out for her, but she recoiled from his touch, as if she'd been burned.

"No," she said in barely a whisper.

Robin was confused. "No?"

"No."

"Star..." He reached out to her again.

The Tamaranean's eyes glowed green and she grabbed Robin's wrist in a painful grasp. "I said no," she said, her voice low, but firm.

Robin twisted his wrist away from her grip. "Fine," he said, angrily. The whole situation – all the events from the past few days and now Starfire's unwillingness to be comforted – was starting to catch up with him. He was angry with Slade; he was angry with Nightwing; but mostly, he was angry with himself. Too bad Starfire was the only one around to take it out on. "Do you know how hard I've worked to find you? Do you even know what it was like knowing that you were in trouble and that I might never even see you again? _Do you_?"

Starfire stared at him blankly, her eyes looking slightly glazed over. She was still shaking.

"I cried for you, you know. I _cried_ for you," he said. "I _never_ cry."

"I am sorry," Starfire replied, barely audible.

"Don't be. All I want to do is comfort you. I know you're scared." Starfire looked down at her feet. "I'm scared too. I just want to help you," said Robin. He tried reaching out for her again.

She flinched.

Robin pulled away in response and stood quickly, causing his chair to fall backward loudly. He stalked over to the door, cracking his knuckles. "I'll be in the gym if you need me."

Starfire sadly watched as he left, his cape billowing behind him.

*******

Surprisingly, the gym was empty when he went in. The dumbbells were arranged nicely on their racks and in weight order. The floor looked freshly mopped. The room smelled like air freshener.

It was amazing what a Titan would do to keep their minds occupied at a time like this.

Robin headed straight for what he had come there for – the punching bag. The red bag hung from the low ceiling in a vacant section of the gym, as if it was Robin's sanctuary. He picked up the tape on the floor near the piece of equipment and began to tape his hands. He wrapped layers upon layers of the white adhesive on so that his hands would be protected well. When he was finished, he discarded the roll over his shoulder.

The Boy Wonder crouched into the position that was so familiar to him. He pulled back his arm and...

_Punch_

It felt so good for the hero to finally be able to take out his anger his favorite way – kicking the shit out of something.

_Punch, punch, punch, kick._

He repeated the sequence at speeds nearly inhuman. The velocity and power behind his attacks would easily stun an opponent, but his trusty punching bag held strong.

_Punch, punch, kick, squeak, swish..._

Robin knew that sound. Someone had just pushed open the gym door and entered, but he didn't care. The tape on his knuckles began to wear away and he felt his hands began to sting. He ignored the pain and just pushed on even harder. He grunted from the force of each punch.

_Punch, kick, jingle, Robin..._

The chains holding the punching bag up began to jingle with the stress was putting on them.

_Kick, punch, punch, jingle, Robin, punch..._

Whoever it was that had come into the gym was calling him, but Robin couldn't hear them. His mind was consumed with thoughts of Nightwing and his almost mortal mistake, Starfire's uncharacteristic demureness, his own conflicting feelings, and the one thing that seemed to cause it all, like taking a flame to a trail of gasoline.

Slade. This was all Slade's fault. Slade had plagued Robin for so long, and now had the audacity to make it personal.

_PUNCH, Robin, PUNCH, Robin, jingle, ROBIN!_

"ARGH!" shouted the Boy Wonder as he put all his strength behind one last kick. The punching bag fell to the floor loudly. Robin grit his teeth together, his temple throbbing.

"Robin, calm down..." The hero looked up to whoever was talking to him.

Raven.

He breathed heavily, trying to take her advice. It was not helping. "I'll kill him!" he said darkly.

The girl stood from the bench she was sitting on and lowered her black hood as she began to walk toward her friend. "Robin..."

Robin didn't even hear her. "When I'm finished with him, he'll wish he'd never been born. I swear to God, I'll tear him limb from limb."

She knew exactly who she was talking about. _Slade._ Quite frankly, she didn't blame him at all for harboring those homicidal emotions. Hell, she, herself, felt like teaching Slade a lesson he would never forget, but the only difference between her emotions and Robin's was that he acted on his feelings. She tried talking him out of it. "You're being irrational."

Robin looked at her, expression aghast. "Irrational! What the fuck, Raven? You've seen her –"

Raven was next to him now. She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I have, and you're not the only one that feels the way you do, but we can't let ourselves dwell on what's happened. It'll only drive us all crazy." She used her powers to replace the punching bag on the ceiling. "What Starfire needs now is strength and support to get through this," she said. "Can't you, at least, give her that?"

Robin held his head down, his anger eased, but not completely obliterated. "... I think, now, that's all I have left to give."

*******

Her breathing was labored, her body ached at the slightest movements, and she felt like her stomach was turning inside out, but she got out of the bed, despite her body's natural protests. She pulled the blanket closer to her body as her bare feet came into contact with the cold tiled floor.

She carefully took her IV out of her arm and left the infirmary, never once looking back.

She roamed the hallways like a lost soul, somehow avoiding contact with any Titan. She made a direct route to her destination, ignoring everything around her.

She stood outside of the door and almost lost the nerve to go in. With confidence, she pushed it open.

_Squeak, swish_

The two other occupants in the gym, Robin and Raven, turned their heads toward the door. Robin's jaw dropped when he saw who it was.

Raven looked at the two and decided that they deserved some more time alone. "Umm, I'm gonna leave. I'll be in my room. Refrain from disrupting me." She floated out of the room.

"Robin..."

"Starfire..."

They both looked down with smiles of embarrassment on their faces as they spoke simultaneously.

"Continue, Robin," said Starfire as she took a seat on one of the benches.

Robin nodded, taking a seat right next to her. "Well, first of all," he began, "what are you doing out of bed? You are nowhere near well enough to be walking around the tower yet –"

"Oh," said the Tamaranean teen, beginning to stand up. "Well then, I suppose I will return then if you do not wish to speak with me."

Robin grabbed her wrist before she could move and shook his head vigorously. "No, no. That's not what I meant at all." She sat down once again. "I do want to talk to you. I'm just worried about you. I don't want you to get hurt again."

Starfire crossed her arms indignantly. "You do not have to worry about me. I am able to take care of myself –"

Robin rolled his eyes. "Well, I know that..."

"– Well, it is most obvious to me that you do not, Robin!" she nearly shouted. "I am not a plimnark flower of Upnarg that must be protected at all times!"

Robin's brow furrowed and he held up his hands, conceding. "What is the matter with you? I thought you wanted to talk, not argue."

Starfire calmed herself, surprised at her sudden anger. "I am sorry," she replied. "I do wish to speak with you."

Robin waited for her to continue. "Well?"

"I wanted to apologize to you for my behavior in the infirmary," she said. She pulled her legs up and hugged her knees. "I never meant to grab you like I did. I-I really do not know what I was thinking." She looked at the floor, ashamed of her actions.

Robin nodded. "I understand, and it's not your fault that you are feeling how you do," he said. He put an arm around her shoulder, consoling her. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I should have realized that it was part of your withdrawal."

"Withdrawal?"

"Yes, from the drug that Slade gave you," explained the Boy Wonder. "Since you're body has become dependent on it, not having it in your system anymore is making you sick."

"Oh," said the Tamaranean teenager. "I see..."

"But don't worry about it," he assured her. "You'll feel much better in no time."

Starfire nodded her head, wheels turning in her head. "Yes," she said. "I am certain that I will."

*******

It has been a week since the rescue. Starfire was feeling much better since then, and had recovered rather nicely. It was hard to tell if she had completely recovered, though. Starfire was one of those people who did not like to show her weaknesses to others, but from what Nightwing could see, she was becoming much more vibrant as the days went by. She was almost back to normal.

Nightwing never really got the chance to have a one-on-one intimate conversation with her, which was surprisingly fine with him. Even though it was hard to do, he had finally come to terms with the fact that he was never meant to be with her. She belonged with Robin and her other friends in her time period.

Today was the day that the Titans from the future decided to return to their home. Everyone had gathered in the Main Room for goodbyes.

"I'm gonna miss ya, Old Man," said teen Beast Boy to his counterpart. "...even if your head is bald."

The older Beast Boy laughed. "Don't worry, kid. You'll be seeing me and my bald head very soon."

"We never did get to have that competition," teen Cyborg said to his counterpart as helped him program the time regulator.

The older Cyborg shrugged his metal shoulders. "It doesn't matter. We both know that I would have won."

Teen Cyborg's eyes seemed to bug out of his head. "What? You gotta be kidding me."

Across the room, the older Raven embraced the younger one. "Oh, I'll miss you so much!"

Teen Raven squirmed out of her grip. "Yea."

"You're like a little sister to me!" said the elder Raven, lunging for the teenager again.

Nightwing and Robin stared at each other in the eyes. They were both aware of the strange relationship they shared, but it was a relationship, nonetheless.

Finally, Nightwing held out a hand. Robin tentative grabbed it. "I didn't want us to leave on bad terms," said the older vigilante.

"Yeah," Robin agreed. "Neither did I."

Nightwing turned his gaze onto the person at Robin's side. "I'm going to miss you."

Starfire did not even say anything in response. She ran up to Nightwing and jumped into his arms, squeezing tightly.

He hugged back, despite the tightness of the hug.

"Thank you," she whispered in his ear. "Thank you for everything that you did for me. You have my everlasting gratitude."

Nightwing chuckled. "I was glad to help you," he replied. I bright light flashed behind him.

"I got the portal open!" shouted Cyborg. "All aboard the trans-dimensional express!"

Reluctantly, Starfire released Nightwing. "You will visit, yes?"

"Of course," replied Nightwing. "As often as I can." He turned around just in time to see Raven's cape disappear into the portal. Cyborg and himself were the only two left. "Looks like I have to get going," he told her. He looked up at Robin sternly, "If you don't take care of her, I swear I'll come back and kick your ass all over the place."

Robin chuckled. "You won't have to worry about that."

"I didn't think I would," said Nightwing as he disappeared in the tunnel after Cyborg.

The tunnel shrank into nothingness within seconds. The Teen Titans looked at the space it once was wistfully.

"You know," said Beast Boy. "I have a feeling that they will be coming back very soon."

"Me too, BB," said Robin. "And I'm looking forward to it."

*******

_**... The End ...**_

_FYI:_

-Starfire's withdrawal symptoms include: achiness, nervousness, paranoia, shaking, fever, nausea/vomiting, sweating, and irritability. These are a mixture of alcoholism withdrawal and withdrawal symptoms from several different types of drugs.


	11. Epilogue

**BACK TO THE PRESENT**  
**Epilogue**

**By Jacque Nicole**

*******

_Titans' Tower, 2008_

Starfire sat in her room alone, her blankets covering everything but her face. Every light was on, even though the fluorescence from the beautiful sunset shining through her windows easily lit the entire area. After the... ordeal... she had never felt comfortable in darkness.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and sank her face into her pillow as she felt the shakes coming on. They had never stopped, even though two long weeks had passed since the Titans of the future had returned to their time period.

As she shook, the large green hat she wore on her head somehow slid off, exposing her pointed ears and the large 'zit' that graced her forehead. She did not notice it, though, as her body began to ache and her vision began to cloud because of her sudden migraine. She gripped herself tighter before immediately relaxing her hold on herself as her gnarly nails dug into her soft flesh.

Just as she felt her body begin to tranquilize itself, she unconsciously let her body go back into the position it was previously in. At the most inopportune moments, she fell into spells like this. They never lasted longer than five minutes, but the pain they caused never fully left Starfire. On top of all that, strange deformations had appeared on her without warning.

Of course, she never complained or told her teammates anything about what was happening to her. It was her problem, Starfire rationalized. If her friends thought she was weak than they would surely kick her off the team, she thought.

Suddenly, a red light began to flash and an alarm sounded. Quickly, Starfire snatched up the hat from off of the floor and replaced it on her head. Just after she clapped her hands to automatically turn off the lights in the room and put on her oven mitts, her door slid open.

"Starfire, trouble," said Robin, right outside her doorway.

Starfire sat up in her bed and pulled her knees to her chest in hopes that Robin wouldn't spot anything out of the ordinary. "I will be with you shortly," she said.

Robin looked at her questionably, but decided not to force her to talk to him. He let to doors slide shut in front of him, but just before they closed, he could have sworn he heard saw a tear glistening on her cheek.

*******

_Titans' Tower, 2018_

It had been two long weeks since Nightwing had seen Starfire last and, surprisingly, she wasn't constantly on his mind. Sure he thought about her, but he wasn't obsessed like he was not so long ago. He finally had fully come to terms with the relationship they shared: Friendship.

He pulled out his yoga mat in his bedroom for his daily exercises. He stretched like a cat, slow and relaxed. He felt as if he had no cares in the world.

Since his visit to the past, Nightwing changed his life dramatically. He got back in touch with his mentor, Batman, and began to appreciate the people in his life much more. After all, you'll never know when they can't be with you anymore.

He made sure he lived his life to the fullest. Instead of being so focused on his work, he took the time out to actually talk to his teammates about things that didn't have anything to do with the latest villain. For the first time, he really realized how interesting, unique, and fun his teammates were.

On the mat, he switched his position, still reflecting on his life, his thoughts giving him the out-of-body feeling he usually got when doing yoga. He inhaled deeply, moving his body into a sitting position on the floor. He sat quietly in his meditated state, enjoying his peace, his solitude, his –

"Oh lover boy..." a voice Nightwing recognized as Beast Boy's drawled teasingly from down the hall. The vigilante's brow furrowed, hoping that any higher power would steer Beast Boy away from his direction. "Romeo..." called Beast Boy lazily from the other side of Nightwing's closed door. "Can I come in?"

Sighing, Nightwing opened his eyes. "The gods aren't even on my side today," he mumbled to himself. "Sure," he said louder.

The changeling let himself in and leaned on his elbow against Nightwing's wall, the telephone dangling between his fingers in his other hand, teasingly. "Your latest squeeze is on the phone."

Nightwing rolled his eyes. "For the last time, B.B., she isn't my 'latest squeeze'." He began to roll up his mat. "She's a close friend of mine. Besides," he said, tucking the mat in his closet, "you make me sound like a man-whore when you call her that."

This time Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Well, with the amount of girls showing up at our door lately, one could easily mistake you for a man-whore."

"Shut up, Beast Boy. You know those were just some over-obsessed fangirls," he said, reaching for the phone.

Beast Boy pulled it out of his reach. "Mm-hmm. So if _they _were fangirls, then who might _this_ girl be?"

Nightwing's cheeks colored the slightest bit. "I _told_ you already. She's an old friend."

"Whatever you say, Casanova," replied the changeling disbelievingly. "Well, whatever you want to call her, she's on the phone for you."

"Just give me damn phone," said the vigilante, snatching it from his teammate's grasp. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to talk to the person waiting on the other side of the line. He stopped abruptly, as if just realizing something. He looked at Beast Boy with one brow raised. "Do you mind?"

Beast Boy shrugged his shoulders. "Not at all," he said, making himself more comfortable on Nightwing's bed. Nightwing gave the changeling the _look_ and he got the message.

Nightwing sighed to calm his pounding heart after Beast Boy left. He felt like a hormonal teenager all over again. He pulled the receiver to his ear. "Hello?" he answered. He leaned back on his wall. "Oh, hey Babs."

*******

_**... Fin ...**_

**AN**: I have to admit, that wasn't very much of an epilogue. It leaves a lot of questions unanswered, but it really sets up a stage for the sequel if I do write one.

Starfire's scene takes place during the episode Transformation just before they go to fight Plasmus. Nightwing's scene is just random and the only purpose of it is to show that he's moved on in his life. Babs is Barbara Gordon, but it really doesn't matter what girl is on the phone with him because I don't think Nightwing would be a very important character in the sequel.


End file.
